So Alone in Your Heart
by Maki Hatayama
Summary: Anna Blue's life is just like that of any other orphan's life. Except that her one and only friend has just been ripped away from her, just as everything else good in her life. Little does she know, her friend will return to her. And he'll bring the most dangerous adventure of their lives with him...
1. Meeting Damien

Her name is Anna Blue. She is 16 years old, and in 10th grade.  
>She lives at a college, after having been in foster care for several years. Her parents were killed in a mugging when she was 11, and she was nothing short of distraught. The Goth and Emo music she'd recently discovered soon over-took her, and she began living like the songs she listened to.<p>

With no close relatives, Anna was sent to live in foster care. Each set of foster parents sent her away within three weeks, not sure what to do with her, and her lack of interest in anything outside of her dark music, style of dress, and even the songs she'd begun writing.

One good thing did come to her while she was in foster care, though: A young man by the name of Damien. She met him in a local CD store, about to take the last copy of a new album from one of her favorite bands.  
>She quickly apologized for getting in his way, saying he could have the CD.<p>

He'd looked her over for a moment, taking in her nervous stance, and sneering slightly, as he handed her the CD, and hurried out.

Anna stood there, on the brink of tears, not sure what she'd done, but, unhappy with having made someone angry.  
>She bought the CD anyway, so as not to upset him further, though he was no longer there.<p>

Several times after that, Anna ran into him, in all of her favorite places. It didn't take much for her to figure out that he liked hanging out in the places that she liked to hang out in.

Every time, though, he'd glare her way, and rush right out, leaving Anna to feel like she'd made him angry every time.

Once she'd figured this out, though, she was able to put on a disguise before going out, and look around inside a building before she got comfortable enough to take off the disguise.

One day, while Anna was cutting school in her favorite karaoke bar, she saw him on the stage, singing to the crowd, with a voice like no other Anna had heard.  
>Normally, when she saw him, Anna would turn and leave, for fear of making him mad again. But, this time, Anna forgot herself in his voice, and found herself sitting down, and getting comfortable.<p>

His singing style was so… inspiring. Anna could already feel herself about to write a song, because of him.

All day, she listened, waiting on him to get up on stage again, not even bothering to leave until he did.

Day after day, she returned to hear him sing, if he was there. She got into lots of trouble with her school, and foster parents this way, but, she was… content, with this new routine.

One evening, while she was listening to the young man on stage, Anna noticed a girl sitting particularly close to the stage, watching him with a predator's eyes.

While her look was a bit dark, it was not without pure desire for him. She must've been the young man's girlfriend, Anna guessed. She was certainly pretty enough, with long black tresses that shone even in the dim lights of the bar, dark brown eyes, and ruby-red lips.

_He must be so happy with her…_ Anna thought. _Even if she's just a friend…_

Watching him tonight, Anna kept finding her eyes trailing over toward that girl. Her contentment trailed into slight sadness, and she left early, this time.

Even that boy had friends, and he was quite a bit like her. Was there something she was doing wrong? Was it wrong for girls to be like this, and perfectly alright for guys? Why did he have friends when she didn't?

Anna started going to school again after another couple of days with the other girl showing up at the bar. Days of loneliness, and pain returned. The only real peace Anna found was in the new song she was writing, explaining her feelings in all the detail she could put in without making herself cry.

As she stopped to think about the wording of the next verse, a small thought crept into Anna's mind.

_I haven't really sung anything in a while…_ Anna thought.

That thought brought her to think about the young man in the bar, singing karaoke, putting his soul into each word of every song he sang.

Anna raised her head slightly, sitting in the detention room, and forgetting what she was doing for a moment. That was it! That's what she needed to do!

Sitting through all she needed to, to get permission to go out, Anna waited patiently for the moment when she could return to the bar, and put her plan into action.

The night she got there, Damien was sitting with the girl from before, watching the person on stage sing, though this poor person couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. He was obviously waiting for his turn to sing again.

Anna sighed, clinging to the chest of her hoodie as she approached the man running the karaoke machine to make her request.

Damien glared at the back of her hooded head, not happy with having his turn taken from him.

Anna sighed heavily, trying to settle her frying nerves, as the person on stage finished their song.  
>They stepped down, and she almost crawled up.<p>

"Up next, is young Miss Anna Blue, singing 'Sing For Me' by Yellowcard." The man in charge of the karaoke machine announced over the microphone.

Anna's stomach clenched a little tighter, as she heard that. She never expected to be announced to the crowd.

The music began to play. Anna quickly jerked her attention over towards Damien, who was now watching her with the very slightest of interest in his eyes.

She took a deep breath, and nodded to him, as she peeked over at the lyrics screen, just to settle her nerves.

"Look at me… and listen close…" Anna sang letting her feelings flow into the song. "So I can tell you how I feel before I go…"

That first line allowed her to close her eyes, and focus on singing the song like she would if she were in her room, singing along with her CDs. It was nothing to let herself feel the song as she continued to sing it, as she'd always felt this song in the very deepest parts of her heart.

This time, though, it meant just a little more. This time, she was reaching out to touch others with just her voice. This time, she was hoping _he_ would feel what she was feeling.

"Just close your eyes… And sing for me…" Anna sang this a little louder, hoping the plea would reach the man she'd enjoyed listening to every time she came here.

She opened her eyes slowly, and cast her eyes around at the entire bar, noticing how everyone was staring at her in awe. "Just close your eyes…"

Her gaze landed on Damien. He was watching her with his eyes wide open, all anger gone from his face.

"And sing for me…" Anna whispered into the microphone, adding her own little touch to the song.

For a moment, everything was dead-silent. The air seemed to weigh fifty pounds, and Anna was feeling it even heavier with the stuffy, warmth of the bar, and her heavy hoodie.

Slowly, she pulled her hood down to help relieve herself of the uncomfortable heat, and put the microphone back on the stand.

As she stepped down from the stage, the whole bar began clapping and cheering for her. Anna's face got even hotter as she looked around at everyone.  
>Beginning to panic, Anna ran out of the bar, and took a deep breath of the cool night air.<p>

Hearing someone coming out of the bar behind her, Anna ran off into the night, and hurried back to her foster home.  
>For several hours, Anna was unable to sleep, feeling severely shaken by her actions. She didn't regret them in the least, but, she was very high-strung with the energy of them, though.<p>

The next day, Anna was in a bit of a sleepy daze when she walked into her regular CD store, and stumbled over to the bargain bin this time, as she didn't have as much allowance money this time.

She didn't really notice that anyone else was there until her hand brushed against someone else's while pushing around the CDs.

"What're you following me for?" came a voice.

Anna looked up, and saw Damien standing on the other side of the bin, frowning at her, seeming to dare her to come up with a good answer for his question.

Anna watched his face for a moment, partly because she was sleepy, and prone to spacing out, and partly because she was thinking very hard about her answer.

"I… I'm sorry…" Anna said. "But… I've never known someone… who liked the same things I like…"

His expression got just the slightest bit lighter. After a moment of staring back and forth, Damien turned away from her, and left the store.

Anna sighed, glad that he didn't get angry at her at least.

The next day, Anna was sent to live with new foster parents, because her old foster parents couldn't deal with her cutting class so often.

Anna was more prone to cutting class with her new parents, though. Between being hit and yelled at at home, and ignored at school, Anna couldn't really take it.

Each time, she'd go to the bar, looking for Damien… only to find that he wasn't there.

Day after day… Night after night… There was no sign of him.  
>One night, as Anna was slowly making her way back to her foster home, preparing herself to be yelled at, and hit, she heard screaming coming from one of the houses ahead.<p>

She started walking a little faster, so she could pass the angry sounds quickly, not wanting to hear any more yelling than she had to.

Before she could pass the source, though, the door burst open, and someone was shoved out into the night with such force that they fell on top of some trash cans beside the street.

"You clean that up, and come back when you can show your elders some respect!" The man in the house roared, slamming the door behind him.

Anna's heart raced with shock, as she looked over at the person who'd fallen into the trash cans.

Damien stood up, sweeping trash from his clothes, at first looking up to glare at the door, and then noticing Anna.

She stiffened, at first, with his cold gaze freezing her already trembling body.  
>Then, very slowly, Anna reached up, and rubbed the make-up from her left eye, revealing the black eye she'd gotten from one of her new foster parents.<p>

His gaze softened a bit, as he spotted that.

After that night, Anna was able to stay in the same building with him, and not cause him irritation. She'd even get to talk to him, sometimes.

Soon, she found they shared similar dreams… like being discovered as singers, and songwriters… getting away from all the cruel people, like their foster parents… and finding people who accepted them for who they were…

It didn't take but three days for them to start looking like friends. It became rare that you would see one without the other somewhere nearby.

One day, Damien came to Anna's school, and told her he'd won a contest, that earned him a scholarship at a prestigious creative-writing school.

Anna congratulated him, wishing aloud that she could go with him. He stared at her with a very solemn expression, making her feel that there was something wrong, now.

"Somehow…" Damien said. "I think… you won't be far behind me…"

Anna's heart skipped a beat, and a small smile touched her face. He wasn't usually as encouraging as this, however small the encouragement was.

When Damien left, Anna smiled for him, happy that he was getting where he wanted to be.  
>But, when she got home, her tears broke free of the barrier she'd put up, and she cried for days, even while she was working on her own chance to get out of this living hell.<p>

Her foster parents didn't help with that at all, beating her for crying too much and yelling at her to stop.  
>It wasn't long before she was sent back to the agency with claims of being mentally unstable.<p>

The people there were completely beaten, as to what to do with her. They knew she wasn't a bad child, nor was she mentally unstable. She was just different. And no one wanted to accept that. Nor would Anna change for the sake of being accepted.

So, one of the agents working there went to Anna, and asked her what they could do to make sure she kept a decent home for a while.

Anna saw her window of opportunity here, and requested she be sent to the school Damien was attending, promising that she would never skip, and she would try to be more open if she got to stay there.

Within two weeks, she got her applications, and put in all the information needed, and sent it in.  
>Three weeks later, she got the applications back. She'd been accepted.<p>

Anna was all too happy to get on that plane to go to the school. As it rose into the air, she could feel herself rising above the pain of being alone.

She found herself hurrying out of the airport when the plane landed, and took a taxi to get to the school.  
>There, she went looking for Damien just as soon as she was settled into her room… only to find he wasn't there.<p>

She asked one of the teachers about him. The teacher led her over to a bulletin board.  
>There, on a missing person's poster… was Damien's face. He hadn't been seen or heard from in over two weeks.<p>

Anna stared at the poster for an unimaginably long time. She had to be beckoned to return to her room, once night fell.

It was raining that night. Anna sat on her bed, holding a hand mirror she'd managed to sneak out of her mother's belongings when her parents were killed, and staring out the window with an expression of pure pain… pain like no human being had ever known before.

A song came to Anna rather quickly; there… she didn't need to write it down or anything. She knew it already… and she wasn't going to forget it for a while.

"My face against the window pane. A tear for every drop of rain." Anna sang quietly, turning to look down at the mirror.

This mirror… it always reminded Anna of her parents… and how things would be if they were still alive. Damien had been just a small ray of sunshine in the darkness of her life, as she'd enjoyed being with him, as he helped ease the pain of loneliness… but, with no one here…

A sudden burst of energy brought Anna up to her feet, turned her around, and had her throw that hand mirror into the large standing mirror she'd bought for herself to help her make sure she looked just right… in order to make friends…

The large mirror shattered, and glass fell everywhere. The hand mirror clattered to the floor.

Anna stood there, breathing heavily, shocked at her own actions. She'd never broken something over being lonely before… and she didn't feel terribly bad about it right now.

Slowly, Anna turned back around, and fell backwards onto her bed, thinking of Damien… the last living person she could be herself with…

"I am so lonely and so sad…" Anna sang, hurting too badly to even cry this time. "You're the reason I'm feeling bad… I am so lonely and so sad… Living in a dream I've never had…"

Anna laid there on her bed, just thinking about her life… how everything happy seemed to be ripped from her just as she began to realize how happy it made her…

Little did she know that Damien wasn't truly all that far from her.  
>As a matter of fact, he was just getting back to the school grounds.<p>

For Anna wasn't the only one who's last few weeks had been ruined by certain turns of events. No. Damien had just had a life changing… and death changing experience, that no one could've seen coming…


	2. Meeting Anna

His name is Damien Dawn. He is 17 years old, and in 11th grade.

He lived in a college for a little while, after living in foster care for his entire life. His mother died when he was born, and his father wanted nothing to do with him.

Damien has been sent to so many foster parents in the past, he lost count by the time he was 15.  
>Not many people could understand the painful situation he lived in, so, most shied away.<br>Those who didn't were usually pretenders, looking to pull him into their cult of more pretenders, so that he, too, could become a pretender.

He'd been pulled into that game before, but, he soon learned how to spot and avoid being pulled in again.

For a long time, Damien believed he was meant to live alone. He wouldn't really talk to anyone. He didn't usually look at anyone if he didn't have to. He put up an angry front when someone decided to try and associate with him, as he was sure there wasn't anyone who wasn't pretending for him… until he met her.

She was a rather timid girl, backing away to let him have the CD that they'd reached for at the same time. She was dressed in an Emo Goth style, but, he'd seen girls dressed this way before. This was another play for his attention, wasn't it?

She kept her gaze on him, apparently not worried about him seeing through her.  
>Infuriated by her over-confidence, he shoved the CD into her hands, and dashed out, expecting to lose her.<p>

To his frustration, and fury, that girl popped up everywhere he went, whether he was already there or not.  
>There were a couple of times where she was there scribbling in a notebook, looking like she was taking notes of his schedule.<br>Then, there were times when she looked like… she was just there to be there.

Damien was confused, now. What was she doing? Was she part of some kind of cult trying to abduct him? Or was she a lone girl with a crush on him? Hell if he knew. But, there was no way she wasn't following him. Nobody his age, particularly not girls, ever liked the same things he did. She had to be going to all these places to see him.

After that day, the girl disappeared. Things seemed to be back to normal… but, that couldn't possibly be. She had to be lingering somewhere…

Days went by. She was nowhere to be seen.  
>After a week, Damien began to settle a little bit, and let his life fall back into balance… a little too soon.<p>

One evening, though he never expected things to go this badly, someone from his school walked in.

Her name was Myra Jackson. She was the biggest trouble maker in his whole school, simply because her parents had the money and she had the looks to keep her out of serious trouble.

Whenever she found herself without a mischief partner, she coveted one of the most talked about students, usually a man. Damien suspected this was her way of sullying the reputations of others, which is why he'd always worked particularly hard to avoid her.

How she'd found him, he couldn't be sure. If the girl from before had gone to tell her, she probably would've been here a lot sooner. No one else knew he was here, as far as he knew. Someone was going to be in big trouble when he figured this whole thing out, though.

Myra took a seat beside him, smiling her usual cocky smile.

"Well, well, well!" She said, slight sneer in her voice. "The boy of no interest is at a restaurant on karaoke night, drinking nothing but water… Is this an interest of yours?"

Damien kept his gaze off of her by staring at an odd-looking hooded figure across the restaurant from them.

"You don't have to look away like that. I know you don't want me around… Not yet, anyway." Myra said. "No, I just came to see what you were doing here."

Damien scoffed, deciding not to humor her with a reply. More than anything, he wanted her to just go away. But, no one seemed to understand that until he said it right to their face.

"Hey, get Damien on stage again!" someone called.

Damien's spine stiffened a bit. Cheers of agreement ran through the restaurant.  
>Damien was not one to ignore it when someone requested to hear him sing. It could only help him start a career in music, as he saw it. He just wished this girl wasn't here to watch him.<p>

"They know you by name? They request your presence on stage?" Myra questioned. "You're good, aren't you?"

Damien jerked around to glare at her.

"Don't think of me as any different from these people." Myra said. "Go ahead! I'd like to hear you sing, too!"

The last thing he wanted was to make her think that she could tell him what to do… but, he also wanted to get up there, because he would take any practice he could get. All he really knew and liked was music, and singing, and he was going to practice until he could get a career out of such abilities.

Slowly, he stood, causing everyone to cheer rather loudly.

He glared down at Myra, and whispered calmly:

"This is not for you. Don't think for a second that I would have anything to do with you, or anyone like you."

Myra's smile faded, slightly.

With that, Damien went up on stage, and turned to the person in charge of the karaoke machine.

"Yellowcard. Way away." Damien said, simply.

The man nodded, knowing he'd probably want something like that.

"You got it." He said, putting the song on for Damien.

Damien felt himself beginning to come to life, again, as he was about to send a message to Myra.

"I think I'm breaking out…" He sang. "I'm gonna leave you now… There's nothing for me here, it's all the same."

His eyes trailed away from the sneering woman to look at the rest of the crowd.

"And even though I know… That everything might go… Go downhill from here, I'm not afraid."

A hooded figure was sitting at one of the tables closer to the back, with a notebook on the table in front of it.  
>Now, this wasn't really all that strange. Damien had seen plenty of weirdoes with notebooks in here before.<p>

"Way away, away from here, I'll be!"

This hooded figure had looked up to watch him.

"Way away, away so you can see,"

All Damien could see through that hood was a pair of pale blue eyes with a certain light of familiarity to them.

"How it feels to be alone and not believe…"

Those eyes kept on him, only blinking when tears began to form in them from being held open for too long.

"How it feels to be alone and not believe… Anything."

All through that song, though it was for Myra to take a hint, and leave, Damien couldn't help but stare at the eyes inside that hood.

That person… from the looks of things… was making a connection with this song. The same connection Damien had with it.

The connection was strongest at the same lyrics Damien had picked as his favorites.

"How it feels to be alone, and not believe… How it feels to be alone, and not believe… Anything."

Everyone in the bar clapped… except for that one hooded figure. That person continued to stare at him, as though he'd touched that person's very soul.

Damien got down from the stage, and sat at the table he'd had before, trying to ignore Myra, as she scowled at him.

After a couple more performances, the hooded figure left the bar.

Somehow, this left Damien feeling… dejected. Why a stranger leaving the bar made him feel this way, he wasn't entirely sure himself. But, he felt it, all the same.

Days went by. The hooded figure showed up for the first three or four days… and then left rather quickly. Ever since Myra came to the bar, the chances of him seeing the hooded figure had dwindled to nothing.

His performances became a bit less frequent. His throat was becoming a bit sore after his now-rare performances.

Myra kept on coming, seeming to enjoy his discomfort towards her.

She was making every possible move to try and get him out of there to become one of her little trouble caddies.

Damien was beginning to consider staying at his foster home for a few nights, if it meant he wouldn't have to see her again.

The night he was certain that he would leave after one more performance, someone went by his table, and spoke to the man in charge of the karaoke machine.

Damien glared.

How dare they cut in like that? Now he was going to be stuck here even longer!

The person on stage finally stepped down, and the hooded figure was the person to step up on stage behind him.

"Up next, is young Miss Anna Blue, singing 'Sing For Me' by Yellowcard." The figure's name was announced to the whole bar.

As the music began to play, the figure looked around, with its blue eyes wide with fear.  
>It nodded to Damien, and cast a glance over at the lyrics screen for a moment.<p>

"Look at me… and listen close…"

The voice was simple, and sweet, beginning to interest Damien. At least this wasn't another bad voice.

"So I can tell you how I feel before I go…"

Slowly, the hooded figure's eyes slid shut. Damien could feel the anger draining from him, as he began _really_ listening to her.

This song was a cry… no… a true plea for attention… The plea of someone who felt truly alone…

Damien felt the table turn, as he became so incredibly captivated by her. She was singing with the same feelings he had… the aloneness… the pain… while that may not have been what the song was about, he could hear her emotions in her voice… they very much mimicked his.

Unbeknownst to Damien, while he was watching this 'Anna Blue' sing her heart out, Myra was frowning with a fury that no human could possibly muster.

She was not pleased with being upstaged by one small performance, when she'd been working for days to get his attention.

"Just close your eyes… And sing for me…"

She was sending a message to someone… even if the addressee wasn't getting it, Damien was hearing it loud and clear.

She opened her eyes, and looked around.

"Just close your eyes…"

She looked over at Damien.

All he could manage was to stare at her. He'd heard her message… he wasn't sure what he'd do about it… but, he'd heard it.

"And sing for me…"

Slowly, the music died away, leaving the bar deathly quiet. The girl looked around with a look of severe discomfort in her eyes.

Damien could hear her breath beginning to pick up, and see the sweat soaking through her hoodie.

Very slowly, she reached up, and pulled her hood down, breathing heavily to try and calm her nerves.

Anna Blue was the girl he'd caught stalking him a while back!

She stepped down from the stage.

At that moment, the whole place erupted with applause. Jumping with shock and fear, Anna dashed out.

Damien got up, and followed her out.

As he stepped out of the bar to catch up with her, she took off running, and he stopped.

_What was I going to say anyway? _He thought to himself. _She was stalking me before… giving her attention will only encourage her to stalk me again…_

Damien stared after Anna, somehow captivated by her… or something in her general direction…

As she disappeared around a corner, Damien put his hands in his pockets, and turned to head back into the bar.

But, just as he faced the door, he saw Myra standing there, arms crossed, with an ugly frown on her face.

Seeing her, he remembered why he didn't want to be there before.

With a scoff of irritation, Damien turned, and started away, preparing himself to stay away from his usual hang-outs until she gave up waiting on him.

The next day, Damien sat through one class at school before heading out to the CD store. He hadn't been there in a while, and had a feeling that Myra didn't know about it yet.

As he went to the door, he spotted a familiar black short-cut, with pink and blue streaks, and paused with his hand on the door handle.

_That's right… she knows ALL of my secret places…_ Damien thought.

She was picking around in some of the places that he would usually look for CDs. But, he'd only been here a few times since she showed up… she couldn't possibly have seen that much…

Slowly, Damien pushed the door open, and went in.

Anna went over to the bargain bin.  
>Damien could see why. There wasn't much of interest this time.<p>

Quietly, he went to join her at the bargain bin, and reached in to pick up a CD.

At that same moment, Anna's hand brushed against his, and he couldn't take it any longer.

"What're you following me for?" Damien asked.

Anna looked up at him, her blue eyes bright, but sad. The lids sagged just a bit, indicating that she hadn't slept well, recently.

So, as she continued to stare, Damien kept his patience with her, knowing that she was probably a bit spacey.

She blinked once, coming back to earth, and realizing that he was expecting an answer.

"I… I'm sorry…" Anna said. "But… I've never known someone… who liked the same things I liked…"

Her answer surprised him. She… really did like all this? She wasn't a fake?

For a moment, Damien stared at her, and she stared back… and everyone could tell that something very important was being said, now… even if they couldn't quite understand what it was, yet.

She could understand him… and he could understand her… and Damien found this… comforting…

After a while, Damien shook his head, and left the store, not buying anything. He wasn't sure what went on back there… but, despite that moment of comfort, it quickly dissolved into a strange edginess. He was becoming a bit jumpy, now. It wasn't because he thought she was going to hurt him, though… so, what was it?

When Damien returned to his house that night, having spent the whole day wandering the town, he sat at his desk most of the time. Partly to avoid his foster parents… and partly to think, and try to clear his head.

Around his bed time, Damien found he couldn't sleep. Instead, he stayed at his desk, writing out his thoughts in random places on a piece of paper. This continued for several days… looking for time-killers by day, and scribbling out thoughts, by night… and his foster parents didn't like it.

"A bar?" His foster mother screeched. "Of all places to waste your time! A bar?"

"That school of yours is expensive!" His foster father roared. "You wanna throw away an education to be a drunken bum, be my guest! But, don't waste MY money doing it!"

Damien scoffed.

"Like you're any better." He said. "Where've you been spending your time out of the job, huh? And, you. Accusing me of wasting time? When you spend the hours you could be spending fixing up this dump of a house to go out, and flirt with other men."

Damien couldn't really be sure what happened next. But, in a blur of spinning color, and shuffling noises, the next thing he knew, he was flying out the door, and crashing into some trash cans.

"You clean that up, and come back when you can show your elders some respect!" Damien's foster father roared.

With that, he slammed the door shut, and Damien pulled himself from the trash.

Brushing the garbage from his favorite coat, he looked up to glare at the door, wondering how people could be so blind to such stupidities.

A small shifting noise caught his attention, and Damien turned to see Anna on the sidewalk, just standing there, staring at him.

Damien frowned at first, as she was probably out here the whole time, eaves-dropping, not that many would have to try to hear any of that.

For a moment, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She trembled, slightly, but, she could barely move, otherwise.

Then, shaky, and trying not to be stiff, she reached up, and rubbed at her left eye until the make-up came off.  
>When she lowered her hand, Damien could see a dark bruise around her eye, and his mood lightened a bit. She at least understood how easy it was to upset him in this situation.<p>

"I… I was just heading home." Anna said. "I didn't mean… to be here… I was waiting to see you at the bar… since it got late, and you didn't show…"

Damien looked her over, noticing that this girl had never been anything but shy around him. Perhaps… she was being genuine…

He put his hands in his pockets, watching her for some sign of a wavering act.

Her eyes stayed the same, though… concerned, but, cautious. She understood that he didn't want anyone to come near him… and respected that.

"Just go on with your business…" Damien said. "I'm not in the mood to get angry at anyone else, tonight…"

Slowly, Anna nodded, and went on her way.

Damien spent the night on a public bench.

Over the next few days, he began visiting his usual hang-outs again. If Anna was there, he let her be, making no attempt to communicate with her at all.

Every so often, though… something would come up…

_Monday…_

"A-A new bookstore opened up a few blocks away…" Anna said. "I'll be heading over there in a few minutes… So, you won't have to worry about me, for too much longer."

She picked a CD, went to the counter with it, paid for it, and left.

_Tuesday…_

"I'll be leaving soon, really!" Anna said. "It's just easier for me to write music in here!"

She jotted down a few more sentences in her notebook, then gathered her things, and left the bar.

_Wednesday…_

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to follow you here!" Anna said. "I just need a new pair of shoes! That's all!"

She picked out a new pair of sneakers, probably not even in her size, paid for them, and left.

By Thursday, Damien was becoming annoyed with her constant apologizing. He was going to address it this time. He didn't know why, as the apologies were the only things she'd spoken to him in the last few days. But, he was going to call her out.

He met her at the bookstore, waiting just outside for her to show.

When she spotted him, she turned to leave. Damien caught her by the hand.

"Ah! I'm-"

"Shut up, already." Damien said. "Do you think I'm just that angry all the time?"

Anna stopped pulling away, and hesitantly peeked over her shoulder at him.

"N-No…" Anna said.

"So, calm down." Damien said. "Besides… I don't feel particularly up to getting angry today…"

Anna slowly drew her hand back, turning to face him. He was so… different, now.

"So… I can… go in there… with… you?" Anna asked, quietly.

Damien looked her over, still wary of her, despite having gotten to know her a bit more. She had shown absolutely no signs that she was acting… and was beginning to prove that she was tolerable as a companion…

"Fine." Damien said.

He turned, and opened the door, stepping in without holding the door for Anna.  
>Anna didn't mind in the least, as she saw him head straight over to the poetry section. The exact section she was going to see.<p>

After that day, you could see those two in the same building together. After a couple more awkward conversations with Anna, leading to her dropping her notebook open at Damien's feet once, you could see them talking, together.

These two were both song writers, and poets, and singers, and they liked most all of the same things. Damien liked some old-fashioned gothic coats for his style of dress, while Anna preferred more current Goth clothing, but, other than that, the two were the same.

When their foster parents got to be too much for them, you could see them sleeping in shifts in an alley at night, when they would run away.

When one of them got picked on by someone, though it was rare for Damien to be messed with, the other would step up to defend their… friend.

Both were glad to admit that they were, indeed, friends.

One day, Damien invited Anna to come see the results of a song-writing competition he'd entered. The prize would be a scholarship at a prestigious music school.

Damien won. Only a few weeks later, he was to be shipped away to that school, half-way across the country from this town… and Anna could not come with him.

"Don't worry too much about me." Anna said. "Just knowing that… I have a friend in this world… While I wish I could go with you, I should be okay!"

Damien looked down at her, feeling dejected. He didn't regret entering that contest in the least. It was the best thing he'd ever done, in his mind… but, one of the last things he wanted to do now was leave Anna… alone…

And yet… she was talented enough… probably more so than he…

"Somehow… I think… you won't be too far behind me…" Damien said.

Though tears were in her eyes, Anna gave him one last smile… a smile he'd grown to enjoy watching. But, to watch it slowly shrinking away in the distance, as the taxi drove away, the air seemed thinner, and colder... he was losing something very dear to him, now.

It took a few days for him to get to the school. Once there, he shut himself away from anyone who wasn't a teacher, studying his absolute hardest while he had the time.

Many times, Damien thought back on Anna, and how he wished she was there to help him cope with all the rich snobs in the school. While he thought of her, Damien began writing a song for her.

This song was going to be his best work, if it killed him. He was working on it everywhere, no matter what was going on. He wrote in the dark, in the noise, while he was walking… and no one could really stop him… not that they wouldn't try.

Damien glared at the sidewalk ahead, deciding to figure out who was stopping him this time.

He stopped, and turned to face the owner of the hand on his shoulder.

A pair of dark brown eyes, and a pearly smile met his glare. In this smile, there were fangs. Damien didn't even process who it was before he noticed that.

"Vampire fangs? Halloween's been over for almost a month." Damien said.

He looked up a bit, and spotted Myra Jackson.

"Sorry." She said, walking around beside him. "I can't do much about these fangs. They don't much care if it's Halloween or not!"

Damien rolled his eyes, and kept on.

Myra caught him by the back of his jacket, and pulled him back.

"Don't ignore me, Damien, sweetie, you know I hate that." She said.

"I don't care." Damien said, pulling free of her grip.

Myra glowered darkly at his back.  
>Damien noticed nothing as he tried to focus on his song for Anna.<p>

He bumped into someone, causing him to drag his pen across the page.

Unable to contain his enraged growl, Damien looked up.  
>He saw nothing as something attacked his throat, and pushed him back.<p>

Damien gagged, trying to catch his breath, and push off his attacker.

A feminine laugh sounded against his throat.

"How convenient, that you chose to write out here, at night!" Myra spoke against his neck, sounding like her mouth was full.

He felt her teeth pierce his neck, but he couldn't make any sound to indicate his distress, as he pushed at her head, trying to get her off of him.

"No one will see it as I make you mine for the eternity to come!" Myra continued, sucking at the injury a bit.

Damien's mind reeled. He had no idea what to do. She was too strong to push away, and he couldn't call for any kind of help.

"You, Damien Dawn… though, you fight it, I know you want me…" Myra whispered, pulling off of his throat to whisper in his ear. "We were meant to be… you and I… no one will ever come between us… not in all of time, and then some!"

Damien was paralyzed, now. Too much damage had been done to his neck. Moving was too painful, and difficult. Myra was the only one there, too. No one would help him.

She smiled down at him, as blood spilled from the open wound, and he laid quietly, glaring at her in absolute hatred.

"You don't like it now, but, once you've had some rest, you'll feel much better, I promise!" Myra said.

She leaned down over his face. Damien closed his eyes, as she pressed her lips against each one.

"Sleep, now, my love." Myra said. "Sleep, now, and awaken to our new world of immortality!"

Damien was losing strength as fast as he was losing blood. He'd lost so much sleep… he couldn't fight it as the new, and dark sleep crept over him, and plunged him into an evil nightmare…


	3. Coping

Anna wandered the school grounds, looking around slowly, as though she'd just over looked Damien's presence, and would spot him standing somewhere, watching her with a small smile only she had known.

Along with Damien being missing, she'd heard something about a mysterious puddle of blood on the school grounds the night Damien disappeared.

People suspected that he committed suicide, though they found no sign of a body anywhere.

Anna was trying to deny it. She'd meant something to him, hadn't she? Certainly, she was enough of a reason to stay alive… right? He knew, once he graduated, he could come back to be with her. Or, perhaps, before he had a chance to graduate, she'd have entered the school, and they could be together, then.

Anna's head hung low.

_There's no way he would… he was a real friend… real friends don't leave friends like that… right?_ Anna couldn't help such thoughts.

Damien was the only friend she'd ever known. She didn't know what to think of a friend going missing without a trace.

"My face against the window pane… A tear for every drop of rain…" She whispered to herself. "I'm living like already I have died… have died…"

She went to the spot that was told to have been the site of the blood puddle. There was a slight brown mark where the puddle had been. Tears welled up in Anna's eyes, as she began to worry that she'd lost another who was dear to her.

"Emptiness… a present past…" Anna whispered, crouching down to look closer at the site.

There was nothing left to find here… Otherwise, someone would be guarding the tape-bound area… Anna's heart cried out for something, though… something to tell her what'd become of him…

Something glinted in the sunlight, catching Anna's attention. She reached over, and retrieved a button. A button from Damien's coat, she knew.

Tears came to her eyes.

"A silent scream to shatter glass…" Her whisper was faltering a bit, and she stood up, holding the button to her heart.

Slowly, she turned, and began to walk away. She couldn't stay here, anymore, or she'd certainly lose her sanity. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone like this. He knew the pain of loneliness all too well to force her to go through it.

No. Damien was better than that. And too graceful to have an accident, too. If he was dead, someone had killed him. And that was the last thing Anna wanted to think about right now.

She had to keep herself in check. If he was alive, he'd certainly think her pathetic for crying the whole time he was gone. She had to be strong. And she had to stay focused. She wanted Damien to see her doing well on her own, now. Not to show that she didn't _want_ him around, but, to show that she didn't really _need_ him around.

"I have to go… it's time for me to fly…" Anna said.

And, with the button in her hands, Anna started away, slowly trying to rise above the pain of her loneliness…


	4. Waking

Damien could feel himself becoming conscious. For a second, he was working to recall the events from before he passed out.

As he remembered, his senses assaulted him, all at once.

He caught the musty smell of an old room. He could hear a light laugh beside him. He felt something move beside him.

Damien opened his eyes, and sunlight pierced them, causing him to squint.

Growling in pain at the sun, he sat up, looking around at the attic room around him.

"Steady, now, sweetie." Came a voice.

Damien whirled around, and saw Myra beside him, wearing a small night gown, and his best coat. He jumped up from the bed he'd been lying on; backing away from her, remembering that she'd nearly killed him.

"Calm down. Don't work yourself up." Myra said. "We'll survive having sat in the sunlight, but, it makes it pretty easy to injure us now. Give yourself a moment or two to cool down."

Damien looked around for some sort of weapon, not sure just how strong or fast she was.

Right off, he spotted an old-fashioned coat rack, and snatched it up. A slight sting spread across his palm.

"You're going to scratch your hand to bits." Myra said, slowly crawling out of the bed. "Let me close the curtains, then, if you must be so active."

She turned away, and closed the ragged curtains.  
>To Damien's surprise, he could see just fine. It was as though it was a well-lit day inside that dark attic. But, he could plainly tell it was dark.<p>

Myra turned to Damien. He looked around briefly, and spotted the door leading out.

"Oh, stop that, now!" Myra said. "It didn't hurt that bad! And I'm not going to do it again. Not now that you've turned."

Damien continued toward the door.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" He growled low.

Myra smirked, perfectly visible in the darkness.

"Damien… my sweet… we're vampires, now." She said.

He reached the door, and took hold of the knob, beginning to twist it.

"Maybe you are!" He said. "I'm not going around biting people in the neck like you are!"

He pushed the door open, and backed out.

Too his complete shock, he found there were no steps, and he fell, narrowly gripping the knob in time to keep himself from falling.

His weight jerked down hard on his shoulder, and Damien could swear he felt it break, even if he didn't hear it.

Myra came to the door, and pulled it back, allowing him to climb back into the attic.

"That hurt, didn't it?" She asked. "That's what sitting in the sun does to us. It makes our bodies weak, and breakable. It's more of a risk to go fast, and use our strength."

Damien darted across the room from her. If he had to stay up there with her, he wasn't going to stand next to her, if he could help it.

"Why'd you have me in the sun, then?" Damien asked, though unwilling to believe her story. "If it's so bad for me, why subject me to it?"

Myra smiled, lazily wrapping her arms around her mid-section.

"I still like the sunlight." She said. "While it can be dangerous for you and me, as long as we're quiet, and calm, it's perfectly alright."

Damien stared at her, wary that she might attack him again, and still unsure of what to think of her story.

"Besides… you've been sleeping for a few days now." Myra went on, slowly trailing back over to the bed. "I was tired of waiting on you, so, I got a little help from the sun. We don't need to sleep for so long, sweet. I see no reason to do most vital things we needed to do as mortals, really…"

She sat down on the bed.

Damien looked around the attic room, seating himself on a trunk, and taking things in.  
>While Myra wasn't one to tell the full story, she wasn't one to completely make something up, either. Particularly not a vampire story that could sully her reputation as the coolest girl in school, or anywhere, for that matter.<p>

So, some of this had to be true. Damien's aching arm was proof that he was indeed more breakable, now.  
>But, what did this prove to her? What would it matter if the two of them were vampires?<p>

"So… you plunge me into an eternal, life-like torture that I'd hoped to escape after a few decades, but won't now… What do you gain from that?" Damien asked.

Myra frowned in a pouty manner, leaning over to lie on her belly, propping herself up on her elbows.

"I gain the one man I've always wanted, but, never seemed to reach." Myra said. "You gain a woman who will love and treasure you for all eternity. See? We both gain from it!"

Damien could not believe… just how ignorant she was. Why on earth would he want to be with the woman who'd just turned him into a monster that could never die? He was now forced to deal with this horrible world forever. The last thing he wanted was to deal with it alongside the most manipulative, and cruel woman he'd ever known.

Slowly, he shook his head.

"No…" Damien said.

Myra watched him, a look of question in her eyes.

"I don't gain anything." Damien went on. "Not from you, at least… You're the last thing I would hope to gain in life… even if it's not really 'life'!"

A darker frown began to form on her face, as Damien stood up, and snatched up his favorite coat, which she'd so promptly dropped on the floor when coming to help him back into the basement.

"But, knowing what I am, there might be something I can get out of this…" Damien said. "I'll go back, and I'll turn somebody I'd actually like to live with-"

Sudden alarm rose in Myra's eyes as she shrieked a sharp "NO!"

Damien looked at her, gently pulling one of his coat sleeves over his sore arm.

"You don't know what I went through to get away from them, and let you _see_ me!" Myra cried. "If they find out I turned you, they'll destroy you for certain!"

"That's fine, too. I won't have to deal with this living hell, anymore." Damien said.

Myra shook her head, sitting up properly now.

"And… if you reveal yourself… whoever's seen you… they'll kill that person!" Myra said.

Damien paused for a moment with his coat half-way on.

He'd already had someone in mind… someone to turn, that he'd be glad to live with for the rest of eternity… but, if he risked that person's life just by being seen…

A familiar gloom settled over Damien. He knew this feeling all too well. The loneliness of leaving a friend for what felt like forever… but, it wasn't just a feeling this time… was it?

Damien pulled his coat on, and noticed that his arm felt better already.

"Fine." He said. "I won't show myself… and I won't turn anyone…"

He went to the door, and pushed it opening, feeling a bizarre strength building in his whole body.

"Damien?" Myra said, standing up off the bed.

Damien took a deep breath, and jumped down through the stair-less shaft, reaching the ground floor in seconds.

"I'm not going to stay with you, though!" Damien roared back up the passage. "Good eternity, to you!"

Damien ran through the house, and out into a rotting theme-park. He'd seen this one, before. It was only a little while outside of the town near the college he'd been attending. He'd never really been here, he'd just seen the creepy figure of it at night, when he was working late to pay for tuition.

He started running toward the town, but had no intention of stopping there. No. Where Damien was going, it would take him a while to get there. Especially if he wasn't allowed to be seen…


	5. Attack

Anna sighed, leaving the restaurant she'd taken up a job in.  
>She'd been working there for a while, as a waitress. While no one was being particularly rude to her, they weren't very friendly people, seeming irritated with the fact that she was a bit shy, and disapproving of the Goth style she continued to wear, even with her waitressing uniform.<p>

She started away, heading back to the college, where she could be sheltered in the entire dormitory left to her, and settle into bed to either study all night, or try to sleep.

Lately, she'd been hearing a light voice, echoing through her dorm. While she couldn't be sure if some of the students were just that loud, or if she'd just been dreaming without knowing it, somehow, this voice hurt her, inside.

She allowed herself to think back on what she'd been assigned to do this week. She had a few literature tests that she didn't have to work too hard at… Some algebra that she didn't care to do… History, which was very similar to her literature tests, as she had learned quite a bit of history when hanging out with Damien…

Anna cast her eyes off to the side at all the alleys she was passing by.

"Over two hours… I can't believe it…" Anna whispered to herself.

This was how long she'd gone without thinking about Damien. The longest she'd gone since he left to attend this college. She knew. She'd been keeping records.

But, now that she'd thought about him for a few seconds, and hadn't begun to cry, she decided to allow herself to reminisce.

Back to the times when she and Damien would hide in alley ways at night, sleeping in shifts to make sure no one would mess with them… Back to the times when she would wake up covered in grime from the alley, and he would smirk at how messy she was… Back to the times when she was actually happy to wake up, knowing that there was a reason to wake up…

A quiet sigh escaped Anna, as she noticed she'd been holding her breath for a few seconds too long. It'd been so long since those days, it seemed.

Every day, Anna rolled out of bed, and picked up her hand mirror, expecting to see herself with white hair and wrinkles when she looked at herself. Only to find that she was still 16 years old, with a normal, young-looking body and face.

It was so strange how long life seemed… how old she felt… yet, she was still young, and everything moved fast enough that she could almost miss it when something good was snatched away from her.

Anna blinked, looking ahead at the school building. Would they miss her if she stayed out all night? Would they be angry?

Anna slowed to a stop, right beside an alley way.

_I won't know the answer to those questions if I don't actually try to answer them…_ Anna thought.

The alley way was looking particularly inviting, too, as she'd just come out of reminiscence. Quietly, Anna walked down that alley, until she found a dumpster to sit on.

She hopped up on it, and leaned back against the wall of the building beside it.  
>After a few minutes, without that distant voice to distract her, Anna began to doze, and eased herself to lie down on the dumpster.<p>

She drifted off to sleep lightly, somehow more comfortable sleeping in this alley than in the college dorm.

Not an hour later, though, something heavy landed hard on Anna's side.  
>For a brief second, she almost let out a grunt… Until she began hearing some kind of conversation going on just beyond the object on top of her.<p>

"So, when do I get my share of the money?" came a male voice.

_Shik!_ Some kind of metal clicking sound woke Anna up completely, and beckoned her to peek around the big bag that'd been thrown on top of her.

"How's… never, sound?" another male spoke.

Just as Anna peeked around the bag, she saw one man stab another man in the chest with a pocket knife. Her eyes went wide with horror, and she hid behind the bag.

This was a big mistake. Sleeping out in an unfamiliar alley, without someone to sleep in shifts with… Anna feared she wouldn't live to regret this mistake much longer as she heard one last pain-strangled groan, and a big thud as the man fell down, dead.

Her eyes screwed shut, then. Perhaps, if she appeared to be sleeping, if and when the killer noticed her, he would leave her alone.

Anna listened quietly as the man walked around a little, probably hiding the body.

She fought the urge to scream as she felt him suddenly begin digging in the bag, bumping her a bit.

"Huh?" He whispered.

Anna's heart raced as she felt the bag get ripped from on top of her. She could feel a twitch in her face, and couldn't tell if it was just her being overly nervous, or if he could see it, too.

But, the second she felt a hand on her shoulder, her eyes shot open, and she stared up at the killer in absolute horror.

His face was concealed behind a clown mask. Not that this mattered.

Anna cried out in terror as the man picked her up by the collar of her shirt.

"Just what did you see, little girl?" He asked, using a false friendly tone. "Come on! You can tell me, and I won't hurt you!"

Tears spilled over Anna's cheeks, and she closed her eyes, mentally preparing for the worst.

"You saw everything, didn't you?" The killer asked. "That's a real shame. I'm going to have to shut you up, now!"

Anna let out a cry of fear, and frustration as the man raised his knife.  
>If only she'd put her common sense first, she wouldn't be on the brink of death now. But, because she'd been so stupid, she was here… terrified… in tears… and wishing Damien was here to help protect her…<p>

If you could've looked into her eyes, as Anna stared at that knife, you probably could've seen that, for just an instant, she looked up, as though some ray of hope had caught her attention.

The knife was swept through the air. Anna's eyes screwed shut. A shriek of terror sounded through the whole town, causing sleeping bodies to stir, and every occupied mind to turn to that scream…


	6. Searching

Damien entered the town he'd lived in only a few months ago, a baseball cap on his head, and his collar raised to help hide his identity.

There wasn't a moment to waste. He had to find her.

Damien walked around town, looking in all the places he'd once hung out in, searching for the one face he'd ever been fond of. Shops, restaurants, abandoned buildings… she was nowhere to be found.

Finally, Damien headed over to her old school. He waited until the students were all let out. This was nearly an hour-long wait. All to find out that she wasn't here either.

Damien ran through town to all the houses that she'd lived in while they'd been friends. He checked the houses he'd lived in, too, just in case she got stuck with some of his foster parents.

Nothing. The one face he'd been longing to see all this time was gone. There was only one more place he could check before he would begin assuming the worst had happened to her.

The child well-fare agency was the last place she could possibly be.

Damien entered slowly, having been in there so many times before. He had to be particularly careful about keeping his coat collar up and his hat down to make sure he wasn't recognized.

He walked through quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself, though he was the only person in the building trying to hide his face from proper view.

Not a single inch of the building went unchecked. Damien went all through, searching for his friend. Though he wouldn't be allowed to meet her, he would be glad just to watch her from afar, and see to it that she lived a happy life.

But, that would be a difficult task to accomplish without his friend's presence in the whole thing.

Finally, Damien gave in, and looked for the agent usually put in charge of her.

She was standing in a quiet corner, talking on her cell phone, looking irritated with something. Damien didn't care. His mission came first.

He walked right up to her.

"Where is Anna Blue?" He asked.

She looked at him with an expression that told him she did not appreciate being interrupted, no matter what the situation was.

"Can you hang on a minute? I'll call you right back, I promise." She spoke to the person on the phone with her.

After a second, she hung up, and stuck her phone in her pocket.

"What about Anna Blue?" She asked.

"Where is she?" Damien asked. "I've looked all over town, and I haven't seen her anywhere."

The agent put her hands on her hips, perfectly irate now.

"Well, it's no wonder." She said. "Her behavior got out of control, and we couldn't send her to another pair of foster parents."

Damien stiffened, beginning to worry now.

"When asked what would make her calm down enough to be placed somewhere," The agent continued. "She requested to go to a college. So, without too much fuss, we set her up with the applications, and she got in. She's been thousands of miles from this town for a few weeks now."

Damien wasn't sure what to say. She'd somehow gotten out of this hell-hole of a town and gone off to college… Was she trying to go meet him?

He nodded, realizing he'd probably just run away from her when trying to find her.

"Why does this matter so much, anyway?" The agent asked. "Are you a relative of Anna's? Or an acquaintance of hers?"

Without another word, Damien hurried out, getting ready to travel right back to that college.

"That Anna…" Damien said. "She's a timid little thing… But, she's got determination of steel…"

Damien rushed out, starting back off toward the college, praying he got there before the students and staff pushed Anna over the edge.

Along the way, he ran right by Myra, as she was trying to catch up with him.

Frustrated by his sudden change in direction, Myra huffed, turning to follow him.

Damien ran with every ounce of power he could muster, working to out-run her.  
>That witch had taken everything from him… It didn't matter why, or what she was willing to do to make up for it. Damien wanted nothing to do with her.<p>

Soon, she was shaken from his mind, as Damien needed to think about what he'd do just as soon as he got back to the college.

His senses had been heightened, as of late. He'd been trying not to use them, for fear that it would make him more of a monster… but, perhaps, using these stronger senses would help him find her there…

The trip was long, and very sunny. After days of running in the sun, Damien was so incredibly sore, beyond anything he'd ever felt while he was alive.

Rolling up his sleeves one evening, he found that he had open wounds all up and down his arm. They were healing up a bit now, but, they still hurt badly.

Being more careful about covering up in the sunlight, Damien tried to move even faster. The less time he spent in the sunlight, the better.

Even as fast as he was moving, it took him a few months to reach the town near the college. And he didn't even get to the college before he got distracted.  
>But, it was no trifle matter. This distraction was of the utmost importance to Damien. Everything else would wait while he handled this.<p>

A scream rang through his head, scarring his brain worse than the sun had scarred his body. He wouldn't forget that night. Not as long as he existed…


	7. Feeling

Anna could feel herself waking up somewhere. There was soreness in her right wrist. This told her that she was alive.

She blinked her eyes open, squinting through harsh sunlight at the unfamiliar ceiling above her.  
>A hospital ceiling… she knew… she'd been sent to the hospital many times throughout her lifetime.<p>

Sounds of bustling doctors and nurses lightly echoed in the room. Smells of cleaners and medicines filled the air.

Anna sat up, careful of her apparently broken wrist as she gently set her hands on her lap.

_How am I alive, right now?_ Anna thought to herself. _He had me. I was a goner…_

Her eyes landed on her bandaged up wrist.

_I didn't get away easily, I guess…_ Her thought continued. _I didn't fight him, did I? No, of course not! I'm not strong enough… so, how did I get away with just a broken wrist?_

Anna looked up and around the room. On a stool beside the bed, her normal clothes sat, clean and ready to be worn.

_Who brought these in? Nobody at the college knows I exist…_ Anna thought.

She slid out of bed and carefully dressed herself, stepping over to a standing mirror to make sure everything was on straight.

Looking at her face, she thought herself to look truly pathetic. Her make-up had been scrubbed off to treat a cut on her face. She had a big bump on her forehead, along with that cut. Nothing could've looked more pitiful than she did, that day.

A few minutes later, one of the teachers from the college Anna was attending came to pick her up, and drive her back to the campus.

"That was some run-in, huh?" He asked. "Two bank-robbers attacking you… witnessing a murder… that must've been scary…"

Anna raised her head a bit, having forgotten how she'd gotten into that near-death situation. Perhaps remembering that would give her a clue?

"Y-Yeah… scary…" Anna said, beginning to recall her terrifying experience in the alley-way.

At the college, Anna stumbled all the way back to her dorm room, partly because her ankle was injured, and partly because her mind was not in the present moment.

Once settled in her room, assured that she only needed to call the teacher if she needed anything, Anna sat on her bed, and stared at the floor until she fell into a deep trance.

She recalled the whole thing. The heavy bag. The stabbing. Being found out… she remembered it all.  
>But, she couldn't for the life of her remember how she'd come to escape with her life. All she could remember seeing was that knife, and then shadows over-took her memory.<p>

Her fingers came up to gently touch the bump on her forehead. However she'd gotten this, it must've been the reason she couldn't remember much from that night.

For hours, all Anna did was stare at the floor, only taking a break when the teacher came to bring her homework. She hadn't even gotten up to get something to eat, yet.

Dragged on throughout the day, everything she needed to do got done before bed, though. She lay on the stiff mattress, staring at the posters she'd taped to the ceiling, still thinking… still wondering…

_What happened to me out there?_ She wondered to herself for the umpteenth time. _I don't fight… I don't know how, and I've never had the strength to even push someone off of me…_

Her eyes were heavy, but, she knew she wouldn't sleep. Not with something this big weighing on her mind.

Anna never forgot the horrors of her life… she remembered them so that she could tell when something good came into her life… obviously she hadn't forgotten this on purpose, if she'd hit her head at some point that night. But, she had a feeling… she couldn't let herself forget to remember that night by sleeping.

The clock struck midnight. Anna stared up at the ceiling, thinking through every detail of what she saw, and heard the night she was attacked.

Her head was aching, now. Her eyes were burning to be closed. Focus was difficult to keep when her mind kept wandering over to the blackness that sleep was offering to bring her.

Her body was numb, having gone to sleep without her. She couldn't move to rub her eyes, or turn over to find a more comfortable position for her head. Anna was stuck, until morning came, or she fell asleep. Whichever came first.

Anna was at a loss, here. No matter what, she wasn't going to be able to think straight. Life was fighting against her yet again, and Anna could see no way out of losing this fight, because she definitely wouldn't win.

Right as a tear slipped down Anna's face from keeping her eyes open for so long, something caught her attention.

A small sound… a voice, really… echoing through the halls, singing to her a gentle melody… Anna's ears perked up, trying to hear the words.

There were no words, though. It was merely a tune… A tune as lonely without words as she was without her dearest friend…

Anna was curious as to who was singing so late at night. But, she couldn't move to go see.  
>Still she found comfort in this song, settling her frazzled mind, and beckoning her eyes to slide closed…<p>

Anna felt a hand wrapped around the collar of her pajamas.  
>Her eyes opened, and she saw the man who'd attacked her before. Fear rose in her heart, and she tried to scream, only to find that her voice had left her.<p>

He brought out the knife once more.  
>Anna watched it glint in the moonlight, showing the blood on the otherwise perfectly smooth, perfectly clean blade.<p>

The elegance of this blade is what made it so terrifying. It was what made Anna believe that she was really going to die…

But, because the blade was so perfect, Anna had spotted hope in it, too.

Somewhere around her and the man, someone was running toward them, she could see it reflected in the blade. Anna remembered now.

A shadowed figure jumped at the man, knocking him to the ground. Anna tumbled out of his hands, and slammed into a dumpster further back in the alley, her wrist getting crushed between her and the dumpster.  
>The bump on Anna's head began to rise almost immediately. Anna's vision was blurring.<p>

_Quick… I have to see…_ Anna thought to herself.

She turned her head around, and saw her savior picking up her badly-beaten attacker, and the man he'd killed, starting away with them.

For a brief second, her vision came clear… and she could see his jacket…

_I know that coat… I've seen it…_

Anna sighed in exhaustion as her eyes slid closed once more…

When she opened her eyes again, Anna found she was back in her college dorm, and she felt just a little less stiff, after having gotten to sleep.

She sat up, looking down at her broken wrist.  
>Someone had pulled her from death's tight grasp and made sure she'd gotten to a hospital.<p>

Where was that person, now? Did they care about her? Would she find them if she went looking for them?

Anna had no idea. But, she was more than willing to go out and get an idea. With her broken arm, she would be excused from pretty much all of her classes until she was healed. She would have way too much time on her hands to be spending it all in her room, doing little to nothing.

With that, Anna got up, carefully dressed herself, and hurried out to go looking around the town.

Along the way, some people stopped to look at her, not that Anna noticed. No one had really noticed she was here. Those who had had never seen her so lively. No one could help but stare after her as she left the campus.

All through town, Anna searched, making sure to check everywhere, even the places that weren't supposed to be available to her.

She looked at every person in town. Yet, no one had a coat that matched the one her savior wore.

Still, Anna kept looking, deciding that they just weren't wearing it that day. She went back to look the next day. And the next day. And the next day.

Soon, a week passed. And then another one. Anna's rescuer was nowhere to be found.  
>Her usual misery was beginning to settle on her once more. Why… Why did everyone who could possibly care about her vanish like this? Was she destined to be alone for eternity? Or, was everyone else avoiding her?<p>

Anna's feet were dragging across the ground as she headed back to the college. Tears were streaming down her face, but, she made no sounds.

She was hurt, and alone, and wishing she had someone to confide to… just like always…

Little did she know… as long as she lived… she would never be as alone as she thought she was… someone was watching her… looking out for her… because he cared… if no one else in the world ever cared for her at all… he did.


	8. Hearing

Damien watched from outside Anna's window, as she returned to her dorm early. She'd just finished searching the town… again.

Whatever she was looking for, she wasn't finding it, and she was miserable without it.

Damien wanted nothing more than to help her find it, but, he hadn't seen anything to indicate what it was. All he could do was keep watching her until he found out what she was looking for. Until, then, he was stuck.

He watched as Anna put aside her ragged bag, and cast her eyes over at her desk.  
>He'd memorized this habit over the last few weeks of watching her. She was contemplating whether to do her homework now, or put it off while she did something else, which lately involved looking over a town map and marking all the places she'd gone searching for the mystery thing.<p>

With a sigh, Anna dropped her bag right next to her dresser drawers, and went to sit on her bed.  
>Damien's heart ached for her as he spotted that familiar look of misery on her face.<p>

Unconsciously, Damien's fingers came up to touch the window pane, longing to see her… speak to her… see her smile again… Not once had she smiled since he'd found her, and rescued her from that murderer weeks ago. Didn't she have friends here? Someone to bring her a smile? How could she not have friends when she wasn't pushing anyone away… when she didn't behave anything like he did?

Anna cast her eyes over at her bedside table, where her scratched up hand mirror lie, reflecting the posters on her ceiling.  
>She reached over, and retrieved the mirror to stare into it.<p>

For a while, she just sat there, staring at her mirror, looking to be deep in thought. Tears were just peeking over her lower eyelids. But, she wasn't crying… not yet, at least.

Through the glass, Damien could hear her begin humming a song. She'd hummed this particular tune, several times. He could tell it was something she'd written herself. She had yet to sing the lyrics where he could hear them, if she had any, though.

_Anna… What brilliance have you written now? Will I ever get to know?_ Damien wondered to himself, watching his only friend travel through her own personal Space.

It was a sad thought… never getting to hear her poems, short stories, or partial song lyrics ever again… those were some of the best things about her… because they genuinely expressed her… and he didn't get to see that much out of anyone he'd ever known.

A tiny smirk on Anna's face caught Damien's attention, and he came out of his memories to hear her begin humming a new tune… one that he'd been sure she hadn't heard before.

That smirk was small, and weak, only lasting a little before she went right back to watching her mirror with a gloomy face. But, that was enough…

Damien tore his gaze away, and climbed up the drain pipe to get to the roof, where he seated himself on the railing on top.

He couldn't believe it… She'd heard him all that time… Did she know it was him? Was she looking for him all this time?

Damien cast his eyes up for a moment, looking at the moon. It was full tonight, and clouds from recent rains were clearing. He took a deep breath, calming himself, and reminding himself that he couldn't get too excited about this… he wasn't allowed to see her again, after all.

With a heavy sigh, Damien cast his eyes back down at the light on the ground, coming from Anna's window. A shadow passed through the light. She'd heard him climb up, didn't she? Of course she hadn't caught him… but she'd heard him and gone to check.

_No… she doesn't know it was me…_ Damien thought to himself. _I've kept a fair distance from that room. Even if she heard me, she doesn't know it was me… It's nice that she likes the song, though…_

An idea crept into his head, then… Even if he wasn't allowed to go see her… perhaps he could let Anna hear him… just once… and let her know the lyrics he never thought he'd write… lyrics that he couldn't keep to himself, for fear that they would mean nothing…

Damien could feel his body protesting against the deep show of emotion he was about to give… while no one would see this, and maybe no one would hear it… he could feel every muscle in his body becoming tense, as it wasn't in his nature to poor out his heart, but, then… what did nature matter, now? He was something else entirely, now. There was nothing about him that was natural anymore.

Slowly, Damien began shaking his head, loosening some of the tense muscles so that he could breathe properly.

"I look into your heart, and discover myself…" His voice rang through the night air, loud and clear. "But I'll never be a part of your world…" Still feeling stiff, Damien stood, and ran out across the roof, leaping from the edge. "I need you, can't reach you. We're worlds apart…" Damien landed hard on the ground, creating a large hole around him.  
>Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Myra coming to him with a flashlight in her hands. A small smile touched his face as he stepped up out of the hole. "If you need me, look into your heart…"<p>

There… it was done…

_Inside Anna's apartment…_

A rustling sound outside Anna's window caught her attention.

She looked up, and spotted nothing. Her brow furrowed as she stood up, and went to get a better look.  
>Upon reaching the window, Anna's expression relaxed again, as there appeared to be no one there.<p>

Her hand came up to rest against the window pane. She could remember when Damien would come sneaking over to her window, and help her climb out of it, so that the two of them could escape their foster homes for the night.

Those were happy days, though difficult to deal with. If she'd known this would happen… if she had any inkling that she might never see Damien again, after he boarded that bus…

_What would you have done?_ Anna asked herself. _What _could _you have done? If you'd stopped him, and made him miss that opportunity to escape his foster home, he might've hated you forever… I you'd asked to go with him, you'd have been stopped, eventually, because no one planned to pay for your flight, or your stay at the college… There wasn't anything _to_ do, it seems…_

Slowly, Anna backed away from the window, and flopped down backwards onto her bed.  
>Anna could hear some of the other college students carrying on in some of the other rooms. Other than that, it was quiet, though.<p>

_They must be happy… as loud as they get every night… _Anna thought to herself. _Strange… Damien and I were never all that loud when we hung out… does that mean something?_

A sudden ache built up in Anna's throat, as she began to wonder if she'd actually been friends with Damien to begin with… everyone here got really loud with the people they considered friends… yet, she and Damien were always very quiet… did that mean that they weren't friends?

"I look into your heart, and discover myself…" A new voice reached Anna's ears. "But I'll never be a part of your world…"

Anna recognized the song. She'd heard it from somewhere in the building, most every night since she got back from the hospital. "I need you, can't reach you, we're worlds apart…" Anna sat up, beginning to recognize the voice.

Suddenly, the building shook, briefly. Anna quickly brushed it off as the doing of her ever-partying college mates, and stood from her bed.

"If you need me, look into your heart…"

Anna stood there, frozen. Not breathing. Not even blinking.

She was right… they weren't friends… they never were… from the moment they began hanging out… no… they were so much more than friends…

Finally, Anna allowed herself a breath, and she approached the window once more. There was now an odd hole in the ground, and a dust trail leading from it, out onto the campus.

A certain… peace filled Anna's being, and allowed every stressed out nerve in her body to relax, and she leaned her head against the window pane.

"Damien…"


	9. Seeing

Anna kept her eyes open wide as she passed through the college halls, but she was careful of how she looked around. After all… Damien's eye-sight rivaled that of a hawk's.

It was plain that he was still alive and hanging around… while trying not to be caught. And, though Anna didn't want to upset him by finding him, she wanted to know why he was avoiding her. Why he hadn't at least explained himself before he disappeared.

Just knowing… that would be enough… she could leave him in her past just as long as she knew why he was leaving…

_But, where is he?_ Anna thought to herself. _I've checked everywhere in town, and asked everyone there is to ask… unless… though it would be difficult for him to hide… is he still here? After all, the most signs I've seen of his presence… have been here. Mostly at night, too._

Anna looked around again, wondering if he was just hiding as one of the students whose faces were obscured somehow or another… like Anna had before they became friends…

_He'd most likely be hiding as a student who isn't talking to anyone, though. _Anna thought._ His 'missing' posters are still up everywhere._

She'd passed through the music room a few times, looking for him. Even when there was no one else there, she'd never heard or seen anything to indicate that he was there at all.  
>She'd been to the auditorium when no one was there. It was a nice place to study in when it was empty. And your very thoughts seemed to echo off the walls when you sat in there long enough, making you wonder if someone else was in there with you.<p>

Anna liked going there because she could always trick herself into believing she had someone to talk to in there… But Damien wouldn't be there, of course… he would know that Anna liked such places, and would easily find him there…

Damien liked most any place Anna did… Or, at least, they kept running into each other in such places. Dark or quiet… Sometimes a place that was both dark and quiet, because they were less likely to be bothered in a dark quiet place. People were scared of such places, after all.

So, Damien would probably hide somewhere bright and noisy and full of people… Anna wasn't quite sure which room fit that bill yet, but she would figure it out soon enough…

_Just last night, out of Anna's sight and ear-shot…_

"What do you think you're doing?" Myra asked, following Damien away from the last building with the lights still on. "There's no point in being here. You'll be caught in such a crowded place."

Damien didn't answer, and kept on looking around, trying to figure out how he could lose her so that he could go back to his usual hiding place for when the sun rose.

Myra probably wasn't the brightest, as far as knowing what he was thinking. She turned him into a vampire and thought they would be together from then on, after all… But, she certainly wasn't stupid. Many smart people fell for her traps back in his old school. Try as they might to get her back, no one could do it. She was always one step ahead of them.

Damien headed off of the campus, Myra beginning to pick up her pace.

"Would you, at least, look at me? I'm trying to help you!" Myra snapped.

Damien sighed heavily, turning back to glare at her. Myra stopped, looking surprised to see this expression.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear back there…" Damien said, slowly. "It seems, though, you've put yourself under some kind of spell, like the ones you cast on all those people back in school, and you think everything's perfect for everyone as long as you exist…"

Damien approached her, bringing his face down to hers so that all she would be able to see were his eyes, and the rage in them.

"I hate you." Damien whispered in the darkest of tones. "Now that you've turned me, you couldn't help me if you tried. No one can. Now that you've turned me… I will loathe you for the rest of eternity. So, go ahead and live your fantasy. Believe you are the center of the universe, and that everything is perfect as long as you get your way… Just leave me out of it!"

Myra's eyes grew misty and dark, her injured pride beginning to shift, turning into a monster like no other creature anyone ever thought up before.

"You… Damien… I… I'm still your senior, here!" Myra choked out, having trouble deciding what to say.

In a second, she grabbed hold of his shirt, whipped him around, and threw him way out past the town, dashing out to reach him before he got up.

She got to the site where she was sure he would've landed. Looking around, she didn't see him anywhere.

"It doesn't matter who's been a vampire longer!" his voice called out from behind her.

She turned, and was suddenly on the ground, a hand around her throat, crushing her wind pipe.

"I've been in more fights than you can imagine!" Damien said. "Try and claim seniority over me! I dare you!"

Myra took a swipe at Damien's face. He leaned away, the length of his arm allowing him just enough distance to avoid her attack, however feeble.

Damien raised her up by her neck, holding a little tighter so that she would switch her focus to try and free her neck instead of attack him.

"Now, listen…" He said. "I'm enough of a monster as I am. I don't want to kill anyone or anything… but that doesn't mean I won't kill you if you should try to push your luck!"

With a slight push, Damien released her throat, knocking her to the ground where she began to cough and gasp to regain her breath, glowering up at him.

Damien watched her for a bit. The sun began to peek up over the horizon, lighting things up a bit. Myra kept her gaze straight ahead when looking at him, refusing to look up at him.

"After all the trouble I've gone through…" Myra whispered. "So many months, I fussed with my skin, hair and clothes, trying to look my best for you in school… when that didn't work, I got into the school band, and studied harder to get my grades up for your attention… I even tried to be on the girls' volley-ball team… you haven't once looked at me. Not unless I was standing in the same general area of where you were really looking…"

Myra's hands balled up into fists, picking up a few pinches of the dirt beneath her palms. Her shoulders shook.

In a sudden screaming fit, she threw the dirt up at Damien, and slammed her fists into the ground.

Damien stepped back, avoiding the dirt, and shoving his hands in his pockets as she began settling back down in her spot.

She may have been trying to speak, but all that could be heard were strange unintelligible grumbling noises.

Damien had never seen this behavior in someone her age… Only in children who were trying to earn pity-points and get their way by pouting like this…

Watching her sink so low without even realizing how silly she looked… Damien felt his anger fading a bit. With a heavy sigh, Damien turned and started away to go find shelter from the sun.

"You might've been impressive… if you hadn't cut down all those people to get where you were…" Damien said. "All of them thought they were close to you… if that's the case, I don't want to get close to you…"

Off behind him, he heard her spring up from the ground, still whining nonsense.

"Damien Dawn, I'll get you for this!" Myra shrieked. "You will rue the day you turned me down! Your eternity could've been paradise, but now, I'll make it a living hell! You'll see!"

He scoffed quietly so that she wouldn't hear, and start screaming again.

_I've already seen, you idiot…_ Damien thought to himself, heading back to the college and to his hiding spot to sleep off some of the stress she'd worked into him…

_Present evening…_

Anna's hand rested on the knob of her dorm room door, but she couldn't find the strength to turn it just yet.  
>She'd just finished looking in all the bright noisy places in school, and had come up with nothing. After double checking, she headed out to find a new part-time job, having lost her old one because of her gloomy attitude.<p>

_I still have the faculty room… and the other rooms that students aren't allowed in without permission…_ Anna thought to herself. _He was always the adventurous type… he might hide in places he's not allowed in regularly…_

Her head leaned against the door and she breathed a heavy sigh, getting ready to head into her room.  
>For no particular reason, she cast her eyes down the right side of the hall. Seeing no one was there, she turned to look down the left.<p>

An odd shape on the ceiling caught her attention, and she looked up. It was an attic door.

For a moment, Anna stood, watching the door, vaguely wondering…  
>She shook her head.<p>

_Of course not! That would be just the kind of place…_ Her thoughts stopped short, and she brought her gaze back to the attic door.

Dust was collecting around the seam of the door, indicating that it hadn't moved in a while… that no one had been there in a while…

_Then again… Maybe I'll find the peace I need to think… up there?_ Anna thought. _After all… Even before Damien… I could always think better in places like that…_

Giving a bit of thought as to how she would get up there, Anna realized that she was just tall enough to grab the edge if she jumped. She just needed the door out of the way for when she climbed in.

Anna slid out of her book-bag's straps, and moved toward the door.

Taking a few seconds to aim, Anna tossed the bag up into the door, and threw it open. The bag fell back down, hitting her in the head as it tumbled to the floor.

Moaning in pain, and rubbing her head, Anna grabbed her bag, and looked back up.

_Well, at least the door's knocked in…_ She thought.

She tossed her bag in, let it land inside, and jumped up to grab the edge of the doorway.  
>With difficulty and a lot of noise, considering how quiet she usually was, Anna heaved herself into the attic and sighed, seating herself beside the doorway.<p>

After a few seconds of breathing heavily, Anna noticed a presence behind her. Her bag was at her side. The attic was very neat, with everything up against the walls.

Her heart began to race… she couldn't begin to imagine what was behind her right now… A teacher?... A college mate?... A squatter?... A thief?...

Anna's breathing began to cease as she slowly turned to face the owner of this presence, soon meeting a pair of icy blue eyes…


	10. Confusing

"Wait! Please! If only for thirty seconds, stay here, and hear me out!" Anna pleaded.

A shadowed figure stopped at the window.

_She saw me… But, she can't stop me. I can disappear right now!_ The figure thought to itself.

The figure leaned toward the window.

"Please! I only want to know why you ran away to begin with!" Anna cried.

She stayed right beside the attic door, knowing that any little move she made could cause him to leave… but every muscle in her being screamed for her to go to him.

The figure lingered by the window, seeming to shake with frustration, but it did not move.

_I want to run… I should run… But… I can't find it in me…_

"Please… was it something I did?" Anna asked. "Did I hang around too much? Was I a burden?"

The figure whipped around right there, a strange anger in its blue eyes.

"Never!" It roared. "Believe me! If I were running of my own accord, I'd find some way to visit you!"

Anna winced at the dark tone in his voice, tears coming to her eyes.

"S-So…"

"Listen to me, Anna…" Damien said, admitting that his identity had come forth. "It was nothing you did… If it was, I'd be dead right now… I just… can't see you anymore…"

"But, why?" Anna retorted. "Just tell me that much! I'll never come looking for you again if you just tell me why you're running!"

Damien looked her over, feeling a strange burn in his chest as he watched her.  
>Anna… his best friend… she was here… right in front of him… Two bounds and he could be right at her side, sitting down to talk with her like they used to…<br>The very thought of being with her again made his frustration boil higher because he wasn't allowed to.

"Anna, please, just let this be!" Damien said. "Can't you deal with knowing it's not your fault?"

She stared at him, glad to know he hadn't left because of her… but still curious as to how she lost her only friend.

"Damien… You're my best friend… my only friend, really…" Anna said. "You should know… I can't leave until I know why my best friend is avoiding me?"

Damien's eyes found hers… and he felt every little brick of the wall he was trying to build come tumbling down. She was so deeply hurt, and he could see it… Try as he might, though, he couldn't fight it.

Damien slowly crouched down, and turned to sit in the window sill, deciding it was alright to sit and talk to her… just as long as he didn't get close to her. He wouldn't be able to leave if he got too close.

"It's… quite a story…" Damien said. "You… You might not even believe it."

Anna shook her head, and began trying to stop her tears.

"If you say it's the truth, I'll take it!" Anna said. "You've never lied to me before… I trust your word, Damien."

Damien sighed, beginning to pick his words for beginning the story. At this point, he could probably lie to her… tell her something down-to-earth and more realistic than what his story was… it would probably settle her mind a little better, too…

_But… what could it hurt?_ Damien asked himself. _If I warn her about Myra, she won't say anything. I could always trust Anna to keep a secret like this. I can't be sure how she'll take it, but she'd definitely keep it a secret._

"Many months ago, when I was just getting settled in this school, I was attacked by someone… you've seen her before, I'm sure. Myra Jackson…"

Anna listened closely as Damien explained how he came into his second-life, and why he was running. Damien watched her expression closely as he told his story, waiting to see her react somehow… she never moved, though.

"… So, now, I'm stuck… running and hiding for the rest of eternity…" Damien said. "Myra wants me dead, but I'll have no trouble keeping her off of me… These so-called elders will be after the both of us, but, as long as they don't know about you, I'm perfectly fine with them catching me…"

Anna watched him, still unable to move. Damien watched her, allowing her to be the first to move.

_I don't believe this…_ Anna thought to herself. _Why... why does it have to be so difficult?_

Anna gave a brief little smirk, and gathered her bag in her arms, turning her face toward the shadows.

"I-I see…" Anna said. "So, that's how it is…"

Damien nodded, watching as she tried to hide her face. He already knew this gesture well. She'd done it many a time when they spent nights in alley ways. She did this when she was trying not to cry about having been hit or yelled at by her foster parents.

"Well… I promised, didn't I?" Anna said, opening up the attic door, and swinging her legs down through it. "No more from me… Good-bye, Damien… my friend…"

Damien's heart sunk a little bit as she slipped down, back into the world of normal human beings, daily routines, and simple lifestyles.  
>Once more, his best friend was slipping away from him… and, this time, she'd promised that she would never visit him again…<p>

He listened as Anna slowly walked away, and returned to her room.  
>Upon hearing her door click shut, something went off inside Damien. The expression that grew in his eyes was that of pure rage. His hands turned into fists, and he couldn't smooth them out no matter how he fought with them.<p>

In a second, the window sill that he once sat in was crushed, and Damien was falling down toward the school yard.

_Why did I wait until she promised that? Why did I hurt her like this?_ Damien asked himself. _I know I'm not supposed to see her again… but I didn't want to leave her like this!_

Damien landed on his feet, and took off running into the dark of the evening, feeling destructive, but knowing better than to destroy anything where humans could catch him. Anger raging out of control, and his mind unable to work through it, he set his gaze in one direction, and ran that way, deciding he'd worry about where he was going later…

_In Anna's room…_

Tears streamed down Anna's face and she fell to sit on the floor, trembling too hard to keep standing. Her hands found their way up to cover her face.

_Why… couldn't he have just said 'no'?_ Anna thought to herself. _Why'd he have to make up a story like that? Does he hate me that much? That he would make up a story like that, knowing I wouldn't believe it?_

Anna began sobbing, her heart crushed to pieces. Too many painful questions and too few soothing answers filled her mind… all she could think to do was sit there and cry.

_Damien… I worried about you… I know you don't like that… But… is it really worth being so cold like that?_ Anna asked him in her mind.

She couldn't quite guess what he would say. This made her feel even worse about the destroyed friendship as she realized that she didn't know what he would say if he'd heard her question…

_If we were really friends… I'd know things like that… wouldn't I?_ Anna asked herself.

Her sobbing stopped. Slowly, her hands fell down to her sides, and the trembling began to stop.

_But… it wouldn't hurt this bad if we weren't friends… would it?_ Anna added in her mind.

A sudden crashing sound, followed by a brief earthquake caught her attention.  
>Jerking her attention over to the window, Anna stammered to her feet and over to the window.<p>

Nothing had changed outside. The hole from before was still being filled in.

_That hole… it showed up the same night I heard Damien singing… to me…_ Anna thought to herself.

Quietly, Anna stepped back and seated herself on her bed.

_Well, then… I'm confused… Why is he behaving like this?_ Anna asked herself. _If he doesn't hate me… why'd he make up that story about becoming a vampire?_

Her gaze trailed over to her desk where everything was all neat and tidy. She hadn't touched her papers or notebooks in quite some time, which is why everything was put away neatly. But, that was just about to end.

Anna sighed heavily, stood up, and approached her desk.

"I'll never sleep with this hanging over my head anyway…" Anna whispered to herself.

She seated herself at her desk, and began pulling out papers and writing things on them, helping to document each path her thoughts took and come to some form of temporary conclusion…


	11. Elders

Damien glared out the mouth of the cave at the sunshine that he was hiding from. Well, not really the sunshine, but the reminder that it brought… the reminder of what he was… and what he couldn't have while he was such…

_I should try to stop moping… there's nothing I can do about this…_ Damien thought to himself. _And yet… I can't really stop… I hate this…_

He'd pounded this cave into a canyon wall far from the town last night. He had no particular reason for doing such; he was just… hurting…

_Now that I've spoken to her… learned her feelings…_ He thought to himself. _Can I really go back to hiding from her? … If I do, it'll definitely be harder than before…_

Damien shifted slightly, trying to settle the pain that was trying to rise up again and allowed himself to fall down to lie on the cave floor. His gaze switched up to the ceiling as he settled on the floor.  
>In the darkness… though his eyesight was well-adjusted to the dark by now… the ceiling looked a lot like the one in the attic…<p>

_I can remember… hearing her practice speaking aloud for others, while I stared at that ceiling…_ Damien thought. _She sounded so pathetic… but she was really trying… I guess that's why I was listening so hard… She's capable of such boundless hope… If she could muster up a bit of courage, she could find new friends, and start living life like a normal kid… forgetting me entirely…_

Damien shook his head, feeling strange about those thoughts all of a sudden, and turned over to look at the mouth of the cave.  
>Light footsteps from outside caught his attention. By the particular sound of them, Damien could tell it was someone wearing high heels… and only one person could come out here wearing high heels.<p>

_Crap…_ Damien said to himself. _I'm not dressed for this!_

In a second, he rolled up, and darted out of the cave.

Myra gasped as something dashed right across her path, and quickly began ascending the canyon walls. With little hesitation, her face of shock became that of rage and frustration as she turned toward the figure climbing the canyon wall.

"Coward! Get back here!" She shrieked, running after it.

Damien hopped up onto the top of the canyon and hurried for the mountains.  
>Myra was following close behind him, using her scorn as stamina to run faster.<br>As the two of them ran on through the bright heat of the sunlight, and the rough terrain of the mountain range, both were beginning to feel their bodies becoming weaker… Damien more than Myra, though, as she'd come dressed in a jacket, jeans and a big sun hat.

"Look who's talking!" Damien yelled. "Calling me a coward… you're the one attacking me during the day, when I was trying to rest!"

"Shut up!" Myra retorted. "My life is hanging in the balance here! If you won't become mine, I have to kill you so that I can keep living!"

"What's that, another vampire perk?" Damien asked, leaping over a really big rock.

"You know it's not!" Myra roared. "I told you from the start! Now, get back here and DIE!"

Damien stumbled as he landed hard on his weak feet and ankles, struggling to keep running now. Myra followed, feeling just a little less pain.

"Witch, get off my case!" Damien yelled. "People get rejected everyday! Go drink away the wounded pride like everyone else!"

"I have been drinking, you idiot!" Myra snapped. "It's not as pain-numbing as you might think! Alcohol doesn't work either!"

_Either? What the…_ Damien's thought stopped a bit short as he looked back at Myra for the first time.

Her face was smeared with blood. On the wind, Damien could smell both the blood and some alcohol.

_She… she's been drinking blood…_ Damien thought, his stomach turning a bit. _I don't get it…_

All of a sudden, Damien tripped, and went tumbling across the ground, feeling every little indentation in the ground like they were knives going through him.  
>Myra jumped on this opportunity… quite literally. Her high heels landed right in the middle of Damien's back, knocking the wind out of him, and piercing his skin a bit.<p>

"Now I've got you!" Myra said. "You… You will know my pain, today! You will rot here on earth before you rot in hell!"

Damien looked back at her with an expression of rage as she dug her heels further into his back…

_Back on campus with Anna…_

"Miss Blue."

Anna winced as she looked up to find her teacher standing beside her desk. She'd been caught reading her notebook in the middle of a history lesson… For the third time.

"Would you mind telling me what is so important that you have to read it right now?" The teacher asked.

Anna watched the teacher, her hands trembling as she reached over to her desk, and picked up her bookmark.

"I-It's… nothing… just… notes… that I wrote…" Anna mumbled, marking her book, and closing it.

The teacher sighed and held out his hand to her.  
>Anna looked up at him. To anyone looking at her right then, she probably looked hurt, like she might cry. But, really, this was just her frustrated face. She hadn't realized how tearful her expression looked, and she probably would've tried for a different face if she had.<p>

Quietly, reluctantly, Anna handed her notebook to the teacher and he took it with him back to his own desk to hold it until class was over.

With her notes gone, Anna found thinking very difficult, let alone forcing herself to think about the lesson before her. For one thing, she was sleep-deprived. After her encounter with Damien in the attic, she hadn't slept a wink. For another, all she wanted to think about was in that notebook… and with thinking being so difficult right now, she really needed that notebook in her face.

Class ended and the teacher pulled her aside for a bit.

"Is there… a problem?" Anna asked. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no. I'd just like to talk to you." The teacher said. "You see… I've noticed how sleepy you are of late…"

Anna raised her head in surprise, and brought her left hand up to her eyes, just lightly touching the hidden bag underneath her left eye.

"I don't have to see the bags under your eyes to know." The teacher said. "Now… I did a bit of digging, and found out about your dorm mates, and their frequent parties… if you'd like, I can have you moved to another dorm to get away from them."

For a moment, Anna couldn't move. But, for that same moment, her thoughts returned to her.

_He… noticed me?_ She asked herself. _And he's… offering… to help me?_

"I-I… no, th-they… they're not any trouble… noise is easy enough… to sleep through… just as long as it's happy…" Anna stuttered. "I-I… I've just… been thinking very hard…"

The teacher leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk.

"May I ask what about?" He questioned her.

Anna gripped the notebook in her right arm just a little tighter.

_I probably shouldn't say… no one knows Damien is here… otherwise those posters would be taken down by now…_ Anna thought to herself. _Which means he doesn't want anyone to know he's here…_

"Well… you can ask…" Anna said, casting her eyes to the floor.

The teacher leaned forward, trying to see her face.

"Miss Blue… I don't like to pry. But, I also don't like to sit by and watch my best students suffer." He said. "I won't press too hard… but, if you don't tell me what the problem is, I can't help you."

Anna looked up at him. His face was very serious.

_He… really wants to know… doesn't he?_ Anna asked herself. _I don't know how he came to know I was upset… or even that I was present in the class… but… if I just keep from mentioning any names…_

"Well… I have a friend…" Anna said.

She explained her situation using as few details as possible, watching as the teacher nodded through listening to every word she said.

"So… now I don't know what to think about anything he said, which just leaves me feeling… hurt…" Anna said.

She met her teacher's eyes, looking to him for an answer.  
>Both stared for a bit, not moving… until Anna gave a slight jump, and jerked her eyes to the floor.<p>

"I'm so sorry! I took way too long to explain!" Anna said. "I got carried away! I'm sorry!"

Her teacher smirked at her, jumping off of his train of thought to let her know that she was over-reacting.

"Think nothing of it." He said.

Anna brought her gaze back to his.

"As for your friend situation," Her teacher said. "I think… you should believe his story. And give him some time and space. Perhaps there's more to it than you think. He might want to tell you, and remain a friend to you… he's just waiting on the right time to tell you the whole story."

Anna held her books to her chest, feeling a strange lightening sensation in her chest. She'd never opened up to anyone like this… other than Damien, of course. It was nice to feel that her pain was known by another, again.

"Th-Thank you… sir…" Anna said. "It means a lot… just to know you heard me…"

The smile he bore was genuinely kind, as he nodded to her.

"Anytime." He said. "Now, don't be late for your next class, Miss Blue."

Anna looked up at the clock and gasped, dashing out the door faster than an Olympic sprinter.

The teacher sat back in his chair, staring at the door, though Anna was long-gone by now.  
>A slight chuckle escaped his lips, and he folded his hands behind her head.<p>

"Nice girl…" He said.

_Damien's fight with Myra…_

"You spent too much time dieting!" Damien grunted, taking hold of her ankle.

With a quick jerk, Myra went tumbling to the side, crashing down to the rugged ground.  
>Damien bounced up while he had the time, and spun around in time to grab hold of her throat as she got back up.<p>

"Oh, please!" Myra hissed through her teeth.

She grabbed his wrist and twisted it to the side, snapping the now-fragile bone easily.  
>Damien roared in pain, pulling away from her.<p>

"I've actually fed a bit! That slows the sun's effect!" Myra said, spinning around, and raking her heel across his face, knocking him back. "How you've fought it for so long, I'll never know, but it will cost you everything!"

Damien got back on his feet, putting his broken wrist behind him so that it wouldn't be in the way.  
>Myra raised her hands up in front of her, showing off her nails. Right before Damien's eyes, they grew a whole inch longer.<p>

"Another perk that comes with feeding!" Myra said.

With a demonic scream of rage, she lashed out at him. Damien backed up, moving out of her range. She began to chase him as he kept avoiding her claws.

"Stop using that nasty term!" Damien said. "You make me sick enough as it is!"

Using his good hand, Damien caught her next attack, and whipped his foot up, easily connecting it with her face.  
>Myra cried out in shock as she tumbled back, her hat falling off, and her long clothing getting torn as she rolled over the ground.<p>

Somehow, she managed to stop rolling, and get to her feet, glaring at Damien. Her brown eyes were suddenly a malevolent purple color as she ran at him.  
>Damien lost sight of her, as fast as she was running, and couldn't stop her as she made one more attack.<p>

He could make no sound. He was struggling to stay on his feet. Myra was laughing low, and dark.  
>She pulled her hand back out of his abdomen, allowing him to fall as she licked the blood from her nails.<p>

"You're strong for a newbie." Myra said, her voice bearing a dark echo to it. "You might've even over-thrown the elders… if you would just embrace this gift I've given you!"

Damien lay down on the ground, glaring up at her as he tried to cover the wound in his chest. It seemed she'd narrowly missed his heart… but, another blow like that, and he would be history.

She approached him, her claws poised to strike.  
>Damien watched them glisten with a black light, seeming to be smiling at his pain, and wishing to deal him even more.<p>

Myra sneered down at her prey, every inch of her ready to attack again. For a moment, though, she just watched, waiting on him to begin begging for his life.  
>In that moment, she tuned into her hearing, expecting to hear his wounded heart beating rapidly, and his breath becoming shaky.<p>

Instead, she heard footsteps somewhere behind her. Someone was coming.  
>Myra heaved in a deep breath through her nose, both to calm herself, and identify the person approaching.<p>

In an instant, her eyes returned to brown, and her claws retracted.

"No!" She gasped. "What's he doing here? None of them are supposed to be out this far!"

Without giving Damien a second thought, she took off running for the mountains, leaving only a terrified scent in her tacks.

Damien heaved himself up, and turned to spot a figure in the distance. It appeared to be hooded in a bright green robe, looking in his direction.

_So… he's one of the 'elders' she talked about?_ Damien thought to himself. _He'll be after Myra now… will he be after me, too?_

Slowly, Damien began shifting around, trying to get to his feet. As he reached his knees, he noticed a set of feet on the ground before him.

Looking up, he saw the green-cloaked figure had come to him.  
>Damien stayed right where he was, a little surprised, and unsure of what to think. On one hand, if this person killed him, he'd be done with this 'eternity', Myra, and the hole in his chest. On the other hand… he still wanted to see Anna through her life. Even if he couldn't be with her, he hoped to watch over her in her life.<p>

Slowly, the figure extended a brown-gloved hand toward Damien… in a gesture of assistance.  
>Damien looked at the hand, then up at the figure's hood, trying to see through its hood.<p>

There wasn't enough light inside it to see a face…  
>Damien ignored the hand, and stumbled to his feet.<p>

The figure lowered its hand back down to its side, turned and started away.  
>Damien was dumb-founded, watching as the figure walked away. He let it fade out of sight before he made any move to leave.<p>

As Damien started back, he began to wonder why he was left alone like that. He wasn't complaining, of course. He just didn't quite understand.

_But, of course… I learned all I know of the 'elders' from Myra._ Damien thought to himself. _Her only skill was lying…_

Groaning in the heat of the desert sun, Damien limped his way back into town, and took cover in a dark alley way while his wounds healed…


	12. Return

Anna heaved herself up into the attic and grabbed her sleeping bag to roll it out on the floor.  
>She'd only started doing this last night. She was waiting up here for Damien to return, hoping he would indeed return to talk.<p>

While she was staying up here, she did what she could to help the construction workers who'd been called to repair the destroyed wall in the attic. They'd gone home by now, but Anna did prefer to work at this task by herself, as no one would look at her like she was an eerie ghost trying to help them.

She'd covered herself in saw dust and dirt last night, so, tonight, she did the work before getting ready for bed and settling into her sleeping bag.  
>Ever since the night she found him, Anna hadn't seen any sign that he'd been there… Nothing…<p>

She was going to be patient, though. There was nothing she wanted more than for her friend to come back and talk to her… and if she had to wait on him to get that, she would do so.

Once more, before bed, Anna cast her eyes over at the still-open wall, looking for some sign that Damien was there.  
>Upon seeing nothing but the full moon outside, she slowly settled down into her sleeping bag, and watched the ceiling for shadows…<p>

_Out in town with Damien…_

Damien grunted, shifting just a bit, holding onto the wound in his stomach. It'd gotten much smaller now, as it'd been two days since it'd been inflicted upon him. He would be able to get up and walk around soon.

_Meanwhile… I still don't know how I'm still alive right now._ Damien thought to himself. _That cloak… Myra ran from it… maybe that wasn't one of the elders she's always talking about? Maybe that was another vampire she'd made an enemy of… in which case, why did it stop to address me?_

Damien looked up at the sky, spotting the full moon above.

_Is it possible… that they're only after Myra?_ Damien asked himself. _I'm probably safe then. They'll keep her off of me…_

That thought eased a soft sigh from his chest… and then a new thought into his mind.

_What if… I'm actually allowed to talk to Anna?_ Damien asked himself. _Just talk. As long as I don't turn her into a vampire… would I be allowed to go back to her?_

As Damien stared up at the moon, he couldn't help picturing Anna's face within it. How briefly he'd gotten to see her just a few days ago… he'd missed so many days of watching her because of his foolish pride.

Slowly, Damien shook his head, blinking once.

"I'm so pathetic… All this fuss over one girl." Damien thought aloud. "A very… kind, trusting… and trustworthy… girl… I guess… I won't fight it, this time. If I'm so worried about her, I should just be there. No more of this silly 'hiding in the shadows' business. She already knows I'm 'alive' anyway. There's no point in hiding…"

Damien turned over to watch out the alley, and wait for sleep to settle over him.

_Morning with Anna…_

Sunlight shone through the hole in the attic wall, and began warming Anna's once pleasantly cool sleeping area. Realizing that morning had arrived, Anna sighed, turned over and felt around for her bag, not quite ready to open her eyes and find herself alone just yet.

She pulled her bag toward herself, and easily pulled out her clothes, knowing exactly the order she'd left her bag in.  
>Now, she needed to know if she was alone. She couldn't change her clothes until she knew she was alone.<p>

Slowly, Anna allowed her eyes to blink open, letting them adjust to the sun a little at a time. She cast her eyes around slowly, seeing nothing out of place, and no sign that anyone had been there.  
>Anna gave a small sigh, and got herself dressed.<p>

_I'll come back tonight._ She thought to herself. _And the night after that. Every night until I see him again…_

Anna got dressed, careful to pack up all her things and clear all of her stuff out of the attic as she hurried off to start her classes.  
>There were choir try-outs today. Though a little nervous, Anna was interested in at least going to watch.<p>

_Yes… it'll be interesting to hear all the different singing voices._ Anna thought to herself.

Through the hall she dashed, perfectly sure of how her day was going to go and unaware of the huge twist in her path ahead…

_Two days later, with Damien…_

Damien was a bit surprised to find that the attic had been completely repaired since he'd mulched it only about a week ago. The shattered window wasn't quite replaced yet, though. So, swiftly, silently, Damien jumped in through the window, and looked around.

Anna's scent was strong in here.

_Is she the reason the window wasn't put in yet?_ Damien asked himself. _No. She doesn't hinder anyone like that. She's not one to cause any trouble._

Damien seated himself on the floor of the attic, and cast his gaze over at the door.  
>He was feeling sleepy. His wounds had only just healed, after all.<p>

_But… I want to know how Anna's doing…_ Damien thought to himself. _She's sitting in class. I saw that much as I was coming in. That's not really what I came to find out, though…_

He knew just where he could get the information he needed. Anna always kept a journal. She got a new one every few months, depending on how soon she finished filling one. She'd allowed him to read some of them, as she trusted him with everything of hers. She would always write her deepest feelings in her journal entries. This was how Damien planned on learning of her feelings, and figure out where he could start making things easier on her.

_I can't sit for too much longer if I plan on reading it._ Damien thought to himself. _Otherwise, I won't get to it until tomorrow._

He reached over, lifted the attic door, and slipped through that door, down into the hallway. He went to Anna's door, pulling a paper clip out of his pocket to pick the lock.

It didn't take much before the lock was undone, and Damien could open the door. He went straight to Anna's desk, and sought out her journal. Searching through the pages, Damien spotted an entry from two weeks ago. It wasn't relevant to what he wanted to know now, but, he read it anyway.

Apparently, Anna was having trouble with a certain group of guys in this school. They were playing nasty pranks on her, pushing her around, stealing things from her according to this entry. And every entry from there on featured at least a small mention of their pranks, and what she planned to do to help get herself out of the worst of the pranks. There was no mention of any success with her plans.

"Curse it! I should've been awake for all of that!" Damien growled to himself. "She should've said something to me when we met in the attic!"

Damien almost closed the journal to leave to help her right there when he realized that he hadn't found what he was looking for just yet. He flipped to the page she'd written the day after she found him in the attic. What he read there was… surprising. And, yet, it wasn't.

_Dear Journal,_

_I was right. Damien is still here on campus. I met him in the attic last night. He was trying to run from me… He wouldn't say why he was leaving at first, but, when he did… He told me he'd become a vampire. That he wasn't allowed to let me see him if he wanted me to keep on living. What's this all of a sudden? I thought we were friends. I thought we could talk to one another. And then he told me this story… It's as though he wants me to know it's a lie..._

Damien noted the wrinkled spots in the paper. She'd been crying over this page, it seemed.  
>With a smirk, Damien closed the journal, and cast his eyes out the window.<p>

_I should've known…_ Damien thought to himself. _Well, you're no idiot Anna. It's plain to see how you grew to be my friend. You should know, though… if I don't tell these stories, there must be something different now._

Hearing footsteps outside, Damien went to the door, closed it and locked it back. Stepping quietly, he crossed the room to get to the window, and opened it to make his exit.

_With Anna, in the hall, on her way to the auditorium…_

"P-Please… I'm going to… b-be late…" Anna stuttered, her shoulders beginning to quiver.

An extremely tall boy slammed his hand against the wall beside her, causing her to wince.

"Oh, boo-hoo! Everyone skips class here! No one's going to miss you!" He sneered.

_You have no idea…_ Anna thought to herself, casting her eyes around the hall.

Even if she got past him somehow, he had three friends to back him up. She was stuck this time. No way out.

"W-What… What do you want?" Anna asked, her voice beginning to break.

He brought his free hand toward her face, and lightly ran his finger down her chin.

"I don't usually go for Emo chicks." He said. "But, you… You're actually pretty cute, for your kind. What do you say? Go out with me tonight, and we won't bother you for today, alright?"

Anna stared up at him in absolute shock. He'd been so mean to her for so long, simply because she didn't have anyone to help her out. Though he was offering her kindness… Anna didn't really want to be around him.

_I must be such an awful person to turn down someone who's trying to be a little nicer._ She thought to herself. _But, what can I do? I don't want anything to do with him. So, how do I say no without hurting his feelings too badly?_

The boy backed up off of her, snatching up the scarf from around her neck.

"N-No! Please! My mother made that for me!" Anna cried, reaching to take it back.

"Relax! I'm giving it right back." He said, taking hold of her arm, and leading her away.

Outside, he found a tree, and pushed Anna into it, handing the scarf to his friends.

"She'll need some time to think." He said. "Tie her down so that she gets that time."

Anna gasped as they tied her tightly to the tree, stretching her scarf to its limit. They backed up once she was tied down, and smirked at her as she looked around in confusion.

"But… it's over 100 degrees out here." Anna said. "I… I'll get sick."

"I suggest you make your decision before that happens, then!" The lead boy said.

All of them started snickering, and turned to walk away.

Anna hung her head, beginning to weep. It was times like these when she would wait patiently for Damien to show up and help her. At this point, though, it seemed she wouldn't ever see him again.

A gentle wind blew by, lightly swaying her hair as she hung her head. With that wind, a strange aura surrounded Anna, and beckoned her to look up.  
>The boys who'd tied her up were nowhere to be seen. They hadn't already gone inside, had they?<p>

All of a sudden, Anna felt some slack in her scarf. In a second, she could pull away from the tree, and her scarf came loose, somehow unharmed by those boys' abuse.

_Did… someone untie me?_ Anna asked herself, putting her scarf back on.

Slowly, she walked around the tree, looking for whoever'd freed her. When she got around to the other side, she didn't see any new faces, or even a silhouette of someone running away.

Movement caught Anna's eye. She looked up, and saw that the boys who were bullying her were now tied to the school's largest tree, using a rope made up of their pants tied together.

_What on earth? Who would do something like this?_ Anna asked herself.

The leader boy spotted her, and turned bright red. He was getting a taste of his own medicine, and he didn't like it.  
>Anna looked at all of the boys, and then cast her gaze up at the sky, squinting as she found the sun.<p>

It was very hot out, today. If they stayed out here, they were sure to be sick, or worse. Anna brought her gaze back down to them, still hesitant. Most would've left them, had they been stuck in Anna's shoes. Anna herself, though…

The boys looked to her in shock as Anna approached them. She went to the one spot where there wasn't anyone pinned to the tree. She wouldn't leave them, but, she certainly wouldn't put herself in range to be attacked again.

Working quickly, Anna's small fingers were able to undo the knot easily, and she took off running toward the school, so as to keep from getting caught again.

_Keep running until you reach the auditorium! They're probably chasing you down for that!_ Anna thought to herself. _I know I didn't do it, but… On that note… No, I don't need to ask. I know who did it._

Anna proceeded to the auditorium, where she arrived late for choir practice. She did her best not to stutter, and worked very hard to get her parts right. Anna couldn't afford to be kept after class tonight. She already had a part-time job. Any other stalls would be just too much.

Everyone around her probably thought things were flying by, the way she was working to move so fast. For Anna, though, things couldn't have moved any slower.

When she finally got off work, she ran straight for her dorm, scaring her dorm mates as she darted through the halls faster than they'd ever known anyone to move in these halls.

Anna stopped just outside of her room. She'd been headed for the attic… until she saw that her door was open.  
>In a hurry to go into the attic, but worried about what might've been broken or taken, Anna pushed her door open to check first.<p>

Nothing had changed. Everything was as she'd left it… except for the paper taped to her window. Anna went in, closing the door behind her as she approached the window.

_I saw you in choir, today, and I've been waiting to talk to you since this morning. Open the window, alright?_

Anna's heart was racing, and filled to the brim with an odd mix of happiness and sadness. There was no hesitation as she forced the stiff lock loose, and heaved the window open. She boldly leaned out the window, and looked around.

"Up here, Anna."

Anna turned to look up, and a small smile touched her face. Without a word, Anna reached up, and her hand was met by another, dressed in thick coat and white shirt sleeves. Slowly, she was lifted out the window, into the night…


	13. Explaining

"Damien… you're not serious?" Anna asked.

"I know. I know. I read that chapter in your journal." Damien replied. "You think I'm either a nut, or a jerk for that one, but it's real. I can prove it."

The two of them sat on the roof under the quarter moon as Damien opened his mouth to show Anna the fangs that resided there.

Tired of this story, but willing to humor him if it would make him stay, Anna reached up, and tried to wiggle one of the fangs loose.  
>Try as she might to move it, though, it wouldn't budge.<p>

"Careful." Damien said, gently removing her hand from his mouth so that he could speak. "You'll cut yourself, clumsy as you are. And I'd rather not drink any blood, thanks."

Anna stared at him in shock. From the looks of things, his story was true. And that opened up an array of new questions.

"Myra Jackson… How did she... you know… change?" Anna asked.

"I don't know." Damien said. "Quite frankly, I don't care. Just as long as I don't ever see her again."

Anna nodded.

"And… the way you worded your warning earlier… You haven't sucked anyone's blood?" Anna asked.

"Or anything's." Damien said. "I'm already a monster physically. I don't see why I have to be a monster by nature if I have any other option."

Anna nodded, shrugging her shoulders a bit.

"I suppose it figures that all the books and movies are wrong." She said. "So… why didn't you prove this to me before?"

Damien turned to look up at the moon.

"I guess I thought you'd believe me. You always have." He said. "But, of course, you are no fool. You know the difference between what's 'real' and what 'isn't'. I couldn't stay much longer, though. I was sure that someone was going to come kill you if I stayed to talk any longer."

Anna watched him, waiting on him to elaborate on that last detail. Damien slowly turned to face her, his eyes seeming to glow, though his face was shadowed.

"But, it seems… Myra has told yet another lie. And, this time, I fell for it." Damien said. "But, how could I risk it? With your life on the line…"

_For my sake… he stayed hidden…_ Anna thought to herself.

Slowly, her eyes trailed away from his so that she could look at the moon this time. Even with this… condition added to him, sitting up there on that roof with Damien… Everything felt normal again. They were talking about their days, both allowing the walls they usually kept up to fall, and every little bit of tension turned to dust and blew away in the night wind.

Without fear, or hesitation, Anna moved a little closer to Damien, not even worrying that their elbows were touching like she would with others.

Damien felt a stirring inside him. It'd been so long since they were just casually talking together. In that time, he'd actually forgotten how deep his crush on Anna had come to run. Now that he was here with her, he could feel it stronger than ever. It held him so tightly that he felt his breath being squashed out of him, and he couldn't find it in him to speak at the moment.

"So… is it safe for you to at least come visit me?" Anna asked. "Can I expect to see you every so often, if not every day?"

Damien's eyes trailed over to her face. Anna's gaze was on the sky, so she couldn't see this. If she'd looked over at him, though, she'd have seen the look of longing resting in his eyes.

Every little thing about this girl made him feel… content. The calm look in her eyes. The small smile resting on the corner of her mouth. Her casual posture. There was no greater peace for Damien than when he was with Anna. Because she was at peace with him, too.

"Yeah." Damien said. "I'll be staying a while. You might even see me while you're in class… I've got to keep those punks off your back, after all."

Anna turned to him.

"You mean… You're the one who tied them up like that?" She asked.

Damien looked out into the distance.

"They deserved it." He said. "After all they did to you, they deserve pain and humiliation… Yet, you went and untied them right away. What was going through your head, exactly?"

Anna stretched her legs out in front of her, looking down at her feet.

"I didn't want them to do that to me." She replied. "Why should I let them suffer that prank if I don't want it to happen to me?"

Damien shrugged his shoulders.

_I could've guessed that much. Anna's just that good._ Damien thought to himself.

"I should've known it was you, though." Anna said. "You're the only person I know who would use someone's pants to tie them to a tree."

Damien snickered at that.

"I was hoping you'd laugh at that, actually." He said. "I haven't seen you smile much, lately."

The two fell silent for a moment. Neither could be sure why. It didn't feel bad, like they were growing apart or anything. And they still had plenty to talk about. They were just… calm. They realized that they would get to talk anytime now, so, they could just sit and enjoy being with each other for a moment, without speaking, and it would be just fine.

_Oddly… though he's changed completely… he hasn't changed a bit._ Anna thought to herself. _Everything feels just as it once did. Damien is still my best… friend…_

She cast her eyes over at Damien.

_She doesn't treat me any different… I'm a creature that could kill her, now, and she doesn't seem to care._ Damien thought to himself. _Does she really believe my story? Or… am I really that important to her?_

He cast his eyes over at Anna.

The two stared at each other for a moment, exchanging unfathomable looks, neither one sure of what to say just yet. Anna wanted to know why she'd hesitated to think of him as a friend. Damien wanted to know just what she thought of him, now that he'd changed. Both knew that they could start that conversation right now, and get it over with. But, neither really wanted to…

Damien's face began to screw up into a cross between some kind of scowl and a smile. Anna slapped her hands over her face, trying to stop the smile that his sudden funny face was causing.

Both began to laugh and smile at each other's reactions to the serious aura. Things felt too good right now to mess it up with any really serious questions. Without a word, they agreed not to bring these questions up until later.

"So," Damien began. "You're in the school choir now. What song did you try out with?"

Anna took a couple of very deep breaths to settle herself.

"Ah… umm… well, I sang my own song, actually." Anna said. "Just the un-finished version. I'm still tweaking here and there."

Another silence fell between them. This one was more awkward, at least for Anna.

Damien tilted his head, slightly.

"Are you going to sing it for me?" He asked.

Anna suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

_I can't sing it to him! He'll be insulted!_ Anna thought to herself. _That song is all about how I was hurting over him, and might sound like I'm blaming him for my pain! I can't…_

Anna folded her hands together, beginning to fidget.

_On the other hand… I would like his help in writing it…_ Anna thought to herself. _And if I get stingy about my songs now, it would make this very awkward, since I've always shared with him before._

She took another deep breath, still fidgeting.

"Urgh… well… alright." Anna said. "D-Don't be too upset, alright? I wrote this song back while I thought you were... you know… So, it doesn't really… mean anything anymore."

Damien brought his right hand up to his heart, and drew a cross on it with his pointer finger.

Anna smirked at that gesture and took a breath to begin singing.

_A few hundred yards away from the dorm…_

Dark brown eyes glared through the night at Anna and Damien as they sat on the roof, just hanging out. Purple flecks began appearing in these eyes as they spotted Damien's smile.

Delicate fists tightened up, fingernails piercing the palms they were attached to. One tear trailed down a lovely, rosy-red cheek.

_This girl… I've seen her… At that karaoke bar…_ Memories of Anna's face swirled around inside a head of black locks and darker intentions. _It's been her all this time, hasn't it? She's the one he's been chasing, isn't she?_

One of the fists unraveled, and came up to rub smears of blood from a pair of pouty pink lips.

"Oh, no you don't, Damien my sweet." A malevolent tone laced this beautiful speaking voice. "You are mine to do with as I please. She will never have you…"

A slender figure began lurking toward the west, watching Anna and Damien with a blank face, as the hatred boiling within was so inhuman, there were no facial expressions for it.

_Back with Anna and Damien…_

Anna suddenly shivered in the middle of the first chorus of her song, and wrapped her arms around herself.

Damien sat up a little straighter.

"You're cold?" He asked.

Anna took note of her own body temperature and shook her head in the negative.

"No… that was really weird." She said. "I feel just fine, but… that came out of nowhere."

Damien looked out into the distance, noticing an odd smell in the low wind. There wasn't anything out there… that he could see.

"Let's get you inside, now." Damien said. "You'll be late for classes if you stay up too much longer."

Anna nodded, cautiously beginning to move toward the edge.

Damien hopped over to the drain-pipe, and helped ease her back through the window, looking out into the night once more.

_That smell… It's blood isn't it?_ Damien thought to himself. _I smelled this same thing when I went to get Anna away from that murderer… I don't remember blood ever smelling like this, though._

"Damien? Is something wrong?" Anna asked, pulling a sleeping bag out of a trunk by the foot of her bed.

He turned to look at her, blinking a couple of times before he could get his thoughts going again.

"O-Oh. Yeah. I'm good." Damien stuttered. "What's with the sleeping bag?"

Anna un-rolled the sleeping bag and spread it out on the floor.

"Well, I need somewhere to sleep if you're going to be staying here." She said, getting down on her knees to smooth it out.

Damien scoffed, lightly.

"You've got the bed for that, Anna." He said. "I'll take the sleeping bag."

Anna looked up at him, opening her mouth to speak.

"Before you start, let me point out that I'm not supposed to be seen by humans. You being the only exception for me." Damien said. "If anyone, for any reason what-so-ever, decided to come in here and found me on the bed instead of you, there would be trouble."

Anna looked toward her door, hearing the noise of her dorm mates. They'd come wandering into her room in some kind of alcoholic haze before. One even fell on top of Anna while she was trying to sleep, once.

_Damien wouldn't tolerate that very well at all, I suppose…_ Anna thought to herself.

"Alright." She said, turning back to face Damien. "I'll see if I can come up with the money for a cot, or something, tomorrow, then."

"Forget it." Damien said. "Both of us used to sleep on top of dumpsters. A sleeping bag on the floor isn't all that bad. Besides, you need that money."

Anna nodded once, still feeling that she hadn't been quite courteous enough, but not willing to start a fight when she just got her friend back.

After handling some school work, getting into pajamas and brushing her teeth, Anna crawled into her bed and watched Damien sleep on the floor for a while.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Everything was beginning to feel good again. And that brought Anna just the comfort she needed to sleep well tonight…


	14. Dreaming

Anna's eyes shot open as she pulled in a big gasp of air. Morning light was just beginning to touch the ceiling, illuminating the posters she'd pinned up there.

She'd woken with a start, not because of a nightmare… but because of being flustered by the dream she'd just had.

"Anna? Are you alright?" came Damien's voice.

Anna turned toward the sound of his voice, but made no attempt to look down at him.

"Y-Yeah…" Anna whispered. "Just… a really… different dream. Go back to sleep."

After a short silence, Anna heard him turn over.

Truth be told, this dream wasn't very different for her. She'd dreamt it most every night while looking for Damien. Every time, she would imagine a slightly different version of reuniting with him, sometimes tearfully, sometimes happily. This time… she imagined a slightly… awkward version of a happy reunion with him. She didn't even know why she was still dreaming about this, let alone why it took an awkward turn. But, it played out something like this…

_Inside Anna's dream…_

A distant singing voice drew Anna down the hall. She could pass the doorways full of snickering shadows, but she never seemed to move any farther down that hall.

_I look into your heart and discover myself…_

Anna looked around, seeking some indication as to where she should go next.

_But I'll never be a part of you world…_

Her legs were becoming weary from the endless walking. Her ears strained to hear the one voice she was following over the increasing volume of the chattering shadows.

_I need you, can't reach you, we're worlds apart…_

She spotted shadows ahead, running at her. With a silent gasp, and spun around, and began running away with all the power she had left in her body. Just like walking the other way, running this way didn't seem to get her anywhere.

New shadows approached her from that side. The shadows in the doorway began stepping out into the hall, and Anna stopped where she was looking around in terror, trying to find some way out.

The shadows surrounded Anna, beginning to grab at her. Anna pulled and twisted every which way to try and free herself of their grip. All the while, she kept trying to scream, but no sound would come of it.

Tears sprung from her eyes as the shadows began restricting her movement, pulling her down into the floor. She couldn't save herself. Anna was outnumbered here. Even if she was strong, no amount of strength could save her from this army of shadows. She needed help. She needed…

"DAMIEN!"

That one word rang out loud and clear as day as Anna was swallowed up by the shadows, her vision being stolen from her.

All of a sudden, something touched her hand. A light began pouring in. Anna could see a new hand right beside hers. Without hesitation, Anna grabbed it. That hand pulled her out of the shadows, and up into the arms of Damien Dawn.

Anna fell into him without a second thought, and looked back at the shadows. They were coming toward Anna and Damien, beginning to take hold of them, trying to pull them both into the floor this time.

Damien pulled Anna closer to him, drawing her attention back to him. Gently, he eased her down to her knees, kneeling beside her himself.  
>Anna looked around at all the shadows standing over them, and took Damien's hand in hers out of fear.<p>

In a second, all of those shadows, and the hallway around them vanished into white. The floor dropped out from beneath them… but they did not fall.

Breathing heavily, Anna turned to Damien. He smirked at her, holding up her hand, which still clung to his tightly. She loosened her grip a bit, so as not to hurt him, but she couldn't quite bring herself to let go.

Her eyes were locked on his. He looked so happy to be here… she hadn't seen him smile like this since before he left for college. Somehow… his expression settled the tightness in her chest. Nervousness faded away to let her breath evenly, and realize that she had him back at last.

Slowly, Damien leaned his forehead down against hers. Anna could feel her heart beating hard and fast, but she couldn't pull away. She didn't… want to.

"If you need me…" Damien whispered to her. "Look into your heart…"

He began to turn his face slightly to the right, leaning down as he did so. Anna's heart pounded once, very, very hard, and she blinked.

_Back in the waking world…_

Quietly, Anna moved to peek over the edge of her bed. Damien was lying sideways on the floor, one hand under his head, and his eyes on the wall.

She fought the urge to sigh, so as not to draw his attention. She knew exactly what this dream was about… she didn't want to admit it to herself, because she didn't want to seem greedy about this… However… there was no more denying that… she loved Damien… She always had... From the day she met him, and learned that they liked all the same things… It started out as a small crush and, as he got friendlier with her, grew into something so much stronger than she'd ever felt before. Even the lonesome feelings born from a lack of friends or family couldn't quite compare to this feeling.

But… Anna didn't want to act on such feelings. She wanted Damien to decide who he wanted. She didn't want to force herself upon him, as that would likely end in heartache for the both of them. No. She was going to wait, and see how things played out. Because, even if he didn't return her feelings… Anna wanted nothing more than for Damien to be happy, even if he chose to be with someone else. That would be enough for her.

Feeling watched, Damien turned over to look at her. Anna casually rolled over to lie down on the bed again.

"Are you really alright?" He asked.

Anna folded her hands together, staring up at her most intricate poster.

"Well… actually…" Anna whispered. "If you wouldn't mind… I think I'd like to sleep in the floor, too."

She cast her gaze off to the side, as though she could see him on the floor from the middle of the bed.  
>Damien was silent for a bit, making Anna wonder what was going through his head. He usually answered such questions pretty quickly. He wasn't one to wait, or make others wait.<p>

She crawled over to peek down at him. Damien was now lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, looking frustrated.

"Damien?" Anna whispered.

He looked over at her, and shook his head.

"I… don't think that's a good idea." He said.

Anna watched him with a look of question, hoping he'd elaborate. Damien saw this, and turned away from her. Confused, but unwilling to press for an answer, Anna lay back down and pulled the covers up to her neck, puzzling over his vague answer until she fell asleep.

Little did Anna know, Damien was struggling with himself right now and didn't want her involved.

_Just a little earlier…_

Damien could hear Anna breathing fast and heavy. No doubt she was having some kind of nightmare. Slowly, he rose from the floor to try and wake her.

Tears were streaming from her tightly closed eyes. Every part of her was moving around as though she was struggling with someone. Carefully, Damien seated himself on the bed, and gently took one of Anna's hands in his.

All of a sudden, her struggling stopped, and she was just breathing heavily.  
>For a moment, Damien figured he would release Anna's hand and go back to bed, planning on congratulating her on beating her nightmare on her own in the morning.<p>

As his eyes trailed down to look for his destination, he stopped short… Nothing particularly strange caught his eye or crossed his mind… his eyes just stopped… on Anna's throat.

Damien reached over, and brushed a lock of hair from the side of her face, subconsciously trying to distract himself. He could see the pulse points still racing from whatever dream she was having. Her scent was becoming prominent in his mind as though he'd just noticed it for the first time and was surprised that it was there.

Damien leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers, still trying to stop.

_What… what am I trying to do here?_ Damien asked himself. _She's fine now, and I can leave her alone… So, what's keeping me here?_

Damien could hear her pulse picking up again. A familiar smell wafted up into his nose. He couldn't quite remember what it was he smelled, but he leaned down toward it, bringing his lips to Anna's neck.

_That smell… I know it… I've smelt it before… What… What is it?_ Damien thought.

He felt warmth against his face. He could feel the pounding pulse point beneath his lips.

_Wait… Three nights ago… That's when…_ Damien froze, his focus returning to him. _That smell… it's… it's Anna's..._

A small gasp shocked him out of his haze completely, and he jumped back, falling on his butt as he bolted back to his usual sleeping spot.

Red images of Anna's terrified face passed through Damien's mind, memories of the few times he'd heard her scream accompanying these images.

From the sound of her heavy breathing, he could tell she hadn't caught him. However… guilt and fear began creeping into his mind.

_Am I being tempted… by Anna's blood? Anna's?_ Damien asked himself in horror. _But… I've never been tempted before… why's it happening now? And with Anna of all people!_

As he heard Anna rub the sweat from her face, Damien began to wonder what was wrong with her. He believed this to be the only remaining human piece of him… the one that cared about Anna as the dear friend that she was. Guilty, but thankful to feel the temptation ebbing away for the sake of his friend, Damien took a deep cleansing breath through his mouth, and let it out quietly.

"Anna?" Damien ventured. "Are you… alright?"


	15. Demon

"So, you can still eat human food?" Anna asked.

Damien nodded, swallowing before he spoke.

"I have to eat something." He said, reaching for his glass of water. "Since I refuse to… you know. I have to get something else to help support this abnormally strong new existence of mine."

Anna was on break in the diner she was working at, and decided to join Damien for an extremely large lunch. She'd always known Damien to eat more than she did. After all, he was very, very athletic, and a bit bigger than her. But, now, he was eating at least triple the meal size that he used to. Silently, though she adored her dear friend, Anna began to think she might be sick at the thought of how much food he was eating.

"I see…" Anna said, turning to her notebook and adding to her latest journal entry. "That makes sense, I guess."

Damien gulped down the whole glass of water and set it aside to be refilled later.

"Now, I have a question for you." He said.

Anna looked at him, flipping her notebook closed.

"What's going on between you and Engelbert?" Damien asked. "You've been spending lots of time with him, lately."

Anna leaned over to rest her elbows on the table. Mr. Engelbert was her favorite teacher. He acknowledged her presence kindly and patiently, unlike the other teachers. He was the teacher who'd given her advice on how to accept Damien's story, and eventually come to believe it. Anna went to him for most everything school-wise, and was always happy to talk to him.

"Well… yesterday, he needed help getting the classroom ready before all the students arrived, so, I helped." Anna said. "And, after that, I mentioned wanting to learn piano, so, he showed me to the music room where they kept one. Just a little earlier before I got here, Mr. Engelbert told me that he was starting a private class for more advanced students, and invited me to attend sometime."

Damien watched her closely. He'd never really bought Mr. Engelbert's 'I get along with everybody' attitude while he was attending that college. Something always seemed a bit… shady about him. Like his bright and shiny smile was meant to hide something darker. The fact that Mr. Engelbert had taken an interest in Anna now only made him feel more uncomfortable.

"Just school stuff, then?" Damien asked.

Anna's brow furrowed in confusion as she nodded.

"Damien… you don't think he's going to hurt me, do you?" Anna asked.

Damien wiped his face with a napkin and began stacking up plates and silverware to be taken away when Anna got back to work.

"I just don't like him, Anna." He said. "I don't know what he's up to, but, I don't like the aura he gives off. I'd prefer that you didn't go to that extra class, too."

Anna was absolutely shocked and confused. She liked Mr. Engelbert's aura. It was kind, and patient, and wise. He was Anna's ideal teacher because of his aura.

_How could Damien think he's up to something?_ Anna thought to herself. _He's such a nice guy… Did he show some kind of different attitude while Damien was attending his classes?_

"A-Alright. I wasn't sure where I'd find the time to go anyway." Anna said.

Damien took note of Anna's face. He could tell she was confused. He didn't really blame her, but, he didn't know what he could say to assure her that everything was alright, when he just didn't want her hanging out with Mr. Engelbert.

_It's not very important right now, anyway._ Damien thought to himself. _I can figure out the Engelbert situation later… Right now, I need to keep eating. I need to stop this… thirst._

Damien had found his appetite to be a lot stronger than usual since he'd become a vampire. And, since he discovered that he was not immune to the blood lust that vampires were always said to have, Damien found his appetite sky-rocketing, and he welcomed that, hoping that eating enough would keep his thirst at bay. So far, it seemed to be working. He wasn't feeling any sort of draw towards Anna's throat.

"All the other teachers are alright, though, right?" Anna asked. "I mean… I really like Ms. Waldenberg's German class."

Damien smirked at Anna, chuckling at how childish she sounded.

"Engelbert is the only one I want you to be truly wary of." Damien said. "Although Ms. Waldenberg tends to spit at students she isn't fond of, she doesn't pose any particular threat."

Anna raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"That's an awful thing to say. She's just talking. She doesn't…" Anna stopped short, deciding that she didn't need to finish her thought.

"But, she does." Damien said. "She's set you in the front row, right between two of the dumber students, and she walks around the first row of kids, making sure to turn towards them while she spits and speaks. Am I right?"

Anna took full note of that, and found that he was right. Ms. Waldenberg rarely moved to the back of the class while she taught her lessons. She was one of the teachers who seemed to be ignoring Anna, so, she hadn't thought much of that situation until now.

Anna and Damien sat and discussed teachers, and their subtle ways of being rude to the students for the rest of Anna's break, and then picked back up after she finished work.

As they approached the school, Damien broke away from Anna to go to the dorm building, and wait outside her window for her to open it for him.

Anna would walk alone to the dorm building, and up the stairs.  
>Tonight, though, as Anna stepped off the first flight of stairs, and turned to head for the second flight, she would find that she wasn't entirely alone.<p>

Anna stopped at the beginning of the hallway. All lights were out. No doubt her dorm mates had gone to bed already. Everything was quiet and still.  
>In the dim light of the evening, though, Anna could see a figure in the hallway, leaning against the wall.<br>While she couldn't really see who it was, Anna somehow felt frozen.

This figure could just be a sleepy dorm mate stumbling through, trying to get back to the bedroom. But, even such a thought couldn't settle Anna's increasing heart rate. Something about this figure was off. All doubts about the figure were quelled as Anna heard it give a low chuckle.

"So… Miss Blue, was it?" The figure asked. "Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I didn't realize just how significant your existence was until recently."

The figure seemed to turn around to reveal glowing purple eyes on its face.  
>Anna backed up a step, getting right in line with the stairs so that she could run if needed.<p>

"I wouldn't even have to meet you now… if you hadn't gotten in my way." The figure continued. "My name is Myra. I have devoted my heart, mind, body and soul to stealing the heart of Damien Dawn. For years, I studied him and changed every little thing about myself, working to be his perfect match… I'm not entirely sure when you entered the picture, but I came first. Yet, he still took to you above me."

This was all Anna needed to hear. Without another thought on the matter, Anna dashed down the stairs, stumbling on the fourth step from the bottom and falling to the floor bellow, her face and elbows connecting with the floor.  
>With terror as her strength, Anna quickly stumbled to her feet, only to find that Myra was blocking the door already.<p>

"Oh? So, he ventured to tell you about us?" Myra asked. "Well, then, you should've known that there was no out-running me on foot!"

Myra advanced towards Anna. Anna backed up feeling a scream built up in her chest, but she couldn't remember what to do with it.

Anna's eyes widened with horror as she saw Myra's nails growing out to dagger-length.

"One thing, before I tear your throat open, rip your heart out and shove it in your mouth." Myra said, lowering her voice as she caught Anna between a wall and her talons. "Just what did you do to earn his eager attention? What is it that keeps him running back to you as though you hold his very life in your hands?"

Anna was trembling too badly to even take a proper breath, now. Speaking was impossible for her.  
>Myra grinned darkly. Anna began to slide down to a sit, tears running down her face.<p>

_We're friends with interests and lifestyles in common._ Anna thought to herself. _Is that worth attacking someone? And threatening them with death?_

"Hmm. Fine then." Myra said. "Good-bye, Miss Blue. Try not to make too much noise as you die!"

Myra pulled her hand back, lightly flicking a claw across Anna's cheek as she prepared to strike.

Anna jumped, feeling the slight pain from the cut Myra'd left on her face. The pain sent a small shock through her body. That shock was enough, though.

"DAMIEN, HELP ME!" Anna shrieked louder than she'd ever been before, coughing at the end as her throat was not used to making such incredible noise.

Myra scoffed once, having been momentarily frozen from shock at the silent girl's sudden outburst of noise. Regaining her composure, Myra quickly reared back, and threw her claws forward.

Thudding. Spinning. Wood splintering. Hearts racing. Lungs begging for a breath but shock denying it.

Anna blinked once, beginning to realize that she was now lying on the floor. She could hear someone yelling. Taking in a quick breath, Anna sat up, and saw Damien struggling to keep Myra at bay.

"Anna, get out of here, now!" He roared. "I'll be right with you, just get out of here!"

Beginning to breathe heavily, Anna stood up, and ran through the now destroyed door, running out of there to give Damien space to fight. Meanwhile, she began looking around for some way to help Damien out of that fight.

_No one else can see them. Myra will probably kill any other humans who spot them._ Anna thought to herself. _I could probably go looking for a weapon, but, what would work against them at night? Oh! I don't mind the vampire thing, but, it was so much easier to help when humans were the ones attacking us!_

"Pardon me."

The voice caught Anna's attention, and she spotted a figure ahead.

_Back with Damien…_

"You're done!" Damien said, throwing a punch.

Myra dodged, giggling with sick enthusiasm as she came back with her claws, aiming for Damien's throat.

Damien leaned back out of her way, her claws just nicking his chin as he stumbled back out of her reach.

"You're so slow, sweet heart." Myra said, raising her claws up in a threatening manner. "It's no wonder, either. All that human food must be so heavy!"

Damien scoffed, bringing his arm up to briefly cover the cut in his chin.

"You know, human blood has that same nourishment in less than half the weight." She went on, starting towards him. "Feeding from that human girl would be so much better for your strength and agility."

Damien began backing out of the building, hearing the occupants running through the halls to come see what all the noise was.

"Better a fat immortal than a skinny monster!" Damien said, turning to run.

Myra quickly followed him out of the building, jumping at Damien as soon as she had the space to jump up high.  
>Damien looked back over his shoulder at her, running off to the right to avoid her as he spun around to face her.<p>

Myra laughed as she landed and bounced up to go at him once more. Damien kept dodging her as she kept bouncing at him. Her laugh got louder and darker with every bounce she took. Damien didn't think much of it until his back hit a wall.

His eyes went wide, and trailed up to see Myra falling at him, a sick twisted grin on her face, her laugh ringing out louder than ever now.

As Myra fell down towards him, Damien began to see her skin flaking and peeling back to reveal blackness. Every tooth in her mouth grew out long and sharp. Her eyes were enveloped in a deep purple glow. Myra didn't even _look_ human anymore. Was this a true vampire? Had she not even finished her own transformation until now?

"Miss Jackson!"

Damien reached up, grabbing her wrists as she got close enough. She had other plans, though.

Without any effort, as though Damien wasn't holding her at all, Myra jerked herself free, breaking every one of Damien's fingers in the process, and she raked her claws across his chest.

Damien roared out in pain, and felt a panic beginning to set in his gut as he realized that he was incapable of putting up a decent fight anymore.

Myra grabbed hold of Damien, pulling him close, and leaning over by his neck. Close as she was now, Damien could clearly smell her. Myra smelled of rotting corpses, and a rotten stench unknown to any other creature on earth.

Damien could be sure, now, that he'd retained his humanity, even when Myra'd turned him. However, as Myra's fangs sunk into his neck, Damien was certain he wouldn't live long enough to feel the comfort in such knowledge.

The pressure of her bite cut off his wind pipe, and he couldn't even make noise to express his pain. He felt her beginning to shake her head, preparing to rip out his throat. She was aware of the pain he was in… and was happily inflicting more upon him.

Damien reached up, fighting with the pain of his broken fingers to grab her neck.

"No, no, let go of her."

Damien looked up. The figure in the green cloak had appeared out of nowhere.

"Forgive me. I'm terribly late." It said. "Let go of her, and relax. I'll take care of her now."

Damien didn't trust him for a second, at heart. This guy'd stood by while Myra attacked him, instead of capturing her on the spot like he should have. Why would he want to help after waiting so long?

The figure reached between Myra and Damien, grabbing her by the joints where her jaw connected to her head. Myra noticed, and began kicking at the figure, unwilling to release Damien.

With a sharp squeeze, Myra's jaw was pried open wide enough for Damien to escape her bite, holding his throat and coughing as he moved away.

In swirls of speed and sound, the figure had Myra knocked out on the ground, not a single scratch on him. Damien knelt down on the ground, gasping for breath, and furious that the figure had waited so long to subdue Myra as easily as he did.

"Once more, I apologize for not showing up sooner." The cloaked figure said. "I have others, like Miss Jackson, who needed my attention. I see, now, that she's needed me more than any other teenaged vampire I've ever dealt with."

Damien looked over at the suddenly very talkative cloaked figure. He couldn't speak now, but he had many questions running through his head.

_Do I need to get Anna and run for both of our lives?_ Damien thought. _Has he seen her? Does he know she knows?_

The sound of footsteps approaching caught Damien's attention. He turned, and there Anna stood, perfectly fine, just looking terrified.

She reached toward Damien, slowing her pace as she approached him.  
>Damien, still fighting to breathe properly, caught a certain scent in the air, and noticed the cut on her face slowly bleeding.<p>

His eyes shot open wide as he felt that hunger set in. This time, though, he slapped a hand over his face, trying to block out the smell as he stood, taking a step back.

"STAY BACK!" Damien choked out.

Anna stopped, staring at him in shock. Damien looked back at the cloaked figure, who was watching him, it seemed.

"Don't… Don't hurt her." Damien coughed and wheezed, fighting to speak. "She… She's the b-best secret-keeper I know. She won't… won't talk. And she… doesn't want to change… Please…"

The figure stood perfectly still, watching on.  
>Damien turned to Anna.<p>

"I'm going… to leave for… a while." Damien choked. "Just while… my wounds heal… I can't… can't stay here, though."

Tears formed in Anna's eyes as she nodded. She didn't want her friend to leave. She really wanted him to stay so that she could help him. But, she knew there was never a soul who could make Damien stay when he was ready to leave.

"I… I'll wait for you, then." Anna said. "Just… Just come back as soon as you can."

Damien nodded, looking at the cloaked figure as he started away. The figure nodded to him.  
>Unsure, but, unwilling to stay and risk further temptation by Anna's blood, Damien hurried away, running to the canyon where he'd hidden to avoid Myra.<p>

Anna rubbed away tears, turning to look at the cloaked figure as he picked up Myra.

"Th-Thank you." Anna said. "I don't… I don't know how to thank you enough."

The figure looked at her, silently examining her for a few moments.

"You can be very patient." He said. "That's all anyone here needs. You'll come to know why in a matter of months."

The figure started away with Myra over his shoulder.

Anna put a hand on her forehead, as though holding an injury. In actuality, though, she was just very shaken-up and exhausted.  
>Slowly, Anna made her way back to her dorm building, ghosting past her flabbergasted dorm mates, who were freaking out over the suddenly non-existent door, and up to her room, where she fell down onto her bed, her whole body going numb and her mind shutting down as her head hit the pillow.<p> 


	16. Fall

"Miss Blue."

Anna turned to see Mr. Engelbert calling for her attention, and tried not to show her discouragement.

_I wish he'd stop calling my attention._ Anna thought to herself. _He makes it so hard to follow Damien's request…_

Not wishing to seem rude to her favorite teacher, Anna turned to face him, waiting on him to speak first. She'd been doing all she could to avoid Mr. Engelbert, as Damien requested before Myra's attack. The whole time, Mr. Engelbert seemed to be looking for any reason to stop her and have her talk to him, though he had yet to use any really desperate-sounding reasons.

"Am I bothering you?" Mr. Engelbert asked.

Anna stiffened just a little, and shook her head in the negative. She didn't know that he'd realized that she was avoiding him.

Mr. Engelbert's smile faded a bit as he watched her.

"May I ask, then… why you've been so much quieter, lately?" He asked. "Has something happened with your friend?"

Anna lowered her head. This man understood her much too well.

"Y-You… could say that…" Anna said. "It's nothing to worry about… I'm just busy."

Mr. Engelbert's smile disappeared altogether as he folded his arms.

"Has he said something about me?" Mr. Engelbert asked.

Anna's head raced for a good answer. Something that wasn't a complete lie. Something that would make immediate sense so that she wouldn't have to stay and explain.

"Ummm… he… just thought that… I favored you over him…" Anna said. "He wanted to spend more time with me, so…"

_I'm such an idiot. I just made Damien sound like an overly-clingy boyfriend!_ She thought to herself. _Well… it's out, now. Will it fly?_

Mr. Engelbert made a face of concern as he watched Anna. Anna shifted her weight from her right foot to her left, waiting on further reaction.

"So… He's afraid that I might hurt you?" Mr. Engelbert asked.

Anna bobbed her head back and forth as she shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure what to say.

"He… didn't say that." She said. "He wouldn't really say what the problem was, he just… wanted me to try to spend more time with him."

Mr. Engelbert nodded, still watching Anna rather closely. Anna waited for a little bit, hoping he'd break the awkward aura, and let her go. When he didn't, Anna took a deep breath, deciding that she would try to end this conversation.

"I… I-I have a lot of homework to get to." She said.

Mr. Engelbert nodded. "Of course. Go ahead." He said.

Anna turned to leave. "You'd let me know if something was wrong, right?" Mr. Engelbert asked.

This stopped Anna briefly, and she looked back over her shoulder. He watched her, still genuinely concerned for her well-being. Anna couldn't help the small smile that touched her face.

"Sure." She said. "I promise. See you tomorrow, Mr. Engelbert!"

Anna waved 'good-bye' before turning and starting back to her room. As soon as she got up there, she unlocked her window and opened it up as wide as it would go.

With that done, Anna quickly changed her clothes to head out to work. Like every day since Damien left, Anna looked back at the window once more, just to see if he was coming in yet. Then, she quietly left for work.

Realizing that she probably seemed a bit gloomy with her friend gone, Anna did what she could to put on a smile and work hard. The manager was pleased with her work, though surprised by her sudden motivation.

Anna left with her arms and legs feeling like pudding, and she stumbled all the way back to the dorm. She opened up that door, stopping in the doorway to stare at her room for a bit.

Finally… after two weeks… Damien had returned. He sat on the edge of her bed, looking like death itself, but trying to smile for Anna.  
>Slowly, Anna stepped in, closing the door behind herself as she went to sit beside him.<p>

Both sighed, Damien leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, Anna putting her hands on the bed as she leaned back a bit and looked up. Both were still very shaken and exhausted from the events of a few weeks prior.

"So… Any word from the Elders?" Anna asked.

Damien shook his head in the negative. "I figured they'd be talking to you." He said.

Anna shook her head. "Nothing." She said. "Perhaps… it's an indication that we'll be left alone from now on?"

Damien shrugged, staring down at the floor. Anna slowly turned her gaze away from the ceiling to look at Damien. A question had been hanging over her head since he left. While it was very important, Anna found that asking this very dangerous question could tear her away from Damien forever, which was the only reason she hesitated to ask.

_But… if I don't ask… we might still be torn apart…_ Anna thought to herself. _There's no winning this, it seems…_

"Damien…" Anna breathed.

Silence fell. Anna knew she had his attention. Both of them were just dragging this out. Damien could tell that, whatever Anna had to say, it was going to change everything. He could also tell that Anna didn't want to say anything straight away, and was allowing her to drag this out as long as she was going to.

"I've been noticing things… You're eating more than usual… You sleep whenever you can…" Anna said. "It's as though you're trying to build up some energy… energy that you don't ever use… up until that fight…"

Damien's brow furrowed, but, he kept his gaze on the floor.

"After Myra was subdued…" Anna continued. "And I finally got back to you… you held your face, and told me to stay back…"

Anna leaned forward, seeking Damien's gaze. He refused to look at her. Not wanting to really anger him, Anna kept on without asking him to meet her eye.

"The Elder vampire… he told me he was impressed by your restraint." Anna said. "How you didn't even seem to look at humans in a hungry way like most young vampires do. Of course I told him you didn't have any sort of bloodlust. I'm quite sure you don't…"

Damien began casting small glances over at Anna, noting the concerned expression on her face.

"He asked me about all those habits I mentioned… I answered truthfully for both of our sakes." She continued. "He told me that those were… methods… of holding off… they keep the thirst at bay… at least until the constant eating…"

Damien turned to face Anna. She watched him with a very serious, concerned expression, holding his gaze firmly.

"He says he's been in charge of young vampires for many centuries." Anna said. "He's seen them all eating and sleeping like you're doing now. And a good handful of them have eaten themselves to death…"

Tears came to Anna's eyes, her hand shaking as she reached for Damien's hand. Quietly, Damien accepted her hand into his own, holding firmly, but careful not to hurt her.

"I like that you're doing your best not to drink any blood…" Anna said, her voice breaking. "But, if holding off means you could eat until you die, I'd rather you just go ahead, and-"

"NO!" Damien burst out, suddenly, scaring them both a little.

Tears spilled over Anna's face, and she pulled her hands up to fight the sobs threatening to escape her throat. Damien fidgeted a little, stretching the anger and shock from his limbs before trying to speak again.

"Sorry… that was too blunt." Damien said. "But, I'm serious. I won't drink blood. You saw what happened to Myra. I don't doubt that's what drinking blood did to her. I'd rather have my gut burst than lose this last shred of humanity I've got."

Anna shook her head, lowering her hands so that she could speak.

"But… I don't want to lose you!" Anna sobbed. "If you can tell me of some way that you can go on without risking your life, or drinking human blood, I'll drop this issue right now and never speak of it again!"

Damien stared at her with an expression that mirrored that of rage, causing Anna to move away just a bit. However, this expression was Damien's way of showing frustration. He had no immediate answer for Anna. And, as she sat there, crying right in front of him, Damien found that his ability to think was dwindling away.

_The last thing I want to do is make her worry…_ Damien thought to himself. _But, if the one thing that might settle her mind risks making me lose mine and hurt her, I don't think I want to settle her head, either…_

Damien turned away from Anna, trying to regain his ability to think. Hearing her light sobs as she tried to regain some composure, though, he knew he wasn't going to think straight in her presence.

Quietly, Damien stood up, and headed for the window.

"I'll be back later." Damien said. "You should work on your school work. The papers you have are tough to get good grades on."

With that, Damien climbed out the window, landing hard on the ground, and dashing off to anywhere that was quiet and still, where he could think without hindrance.

Anna stared out the window for a moment, tears still streaming down her face. The room felt cold, now. The air was dead, though it was a bit windy outside, and the window was open. Beginning to feel stiff, Anna stood up from the bed, and ghosted over to the window.

She saw Damien's figure disappearing in the distance.

_You should do your homework. The papers you have are tough to get good grades on…_

His cold, confident voice echoed in her head. Anna turned to the homework he was addressing. Obviously, he'd looked through to get himself caught up on what Anna was going through in the last few days.

_He's always looking out for me, like that. He always does what he can to make things better for me…_ Anna thought to herself. _But, the moment I try to help him… He pushes me away… Every time…_

The next thing Anna knew, her desk was flipped on its side, papers fluttering everywhere. Once more, fear for her friend, and frustration from not being able to help him had brought her to do something destructive. She knew it wouldn't help at all. She wasn't entirely sure why she did it, even… She was just… angry. And frustrated. She'd felt these many times before… But, only Damien had brought her to the destructive point.

"I can't think about this stuff, now." She said. "I couldn't care less if they decided to expel me right now."

Anna turned to look out the window.

"Damien… I love you… and I want to help you…" Anna said. "But… I don't know what to do… I don't want you to turn into a monster, like Myra… but, I don't want you to kill yourself…"

Tears blinded her and Anna brought her hands up to try and rub them away. She began stumbling back toward her bed, stepping on the papers that cluttered the floor. All it took was one miss-step on her history paper.

With a gasp, Anna could feel her entire body fluttering as her view of the room went from the floor, to the wall, to the ceiling in three seconds flat. With the fourth second, her head collided with her fallen desk, and her vision went black.

Anna fell limp in the floor, knocked unconscious. She wouldn't see it as her door opened up a few inches, revealing a shadowed figure just outside…


	17. Parting

Damien returned to the dorm at night fall, staring up at Anna's darkened window for a bit.

_Alright… I'll go on a bit of a diet for her sake._ Damien told himself. _After all, Anna's the only friend I've got in this world. If I lose her, I've got nothing left._

Taking a breath to steady himself, Damien leapt up to the window, and looked inside. The floor was a mess, her desk knocked over, and papers strewn everywhere. Nothing else was really messed up, but Anna was nowhere in sight.

Worry setting in, Damien tried to push the window open, quickly finding it was locked.

_What? Why is it locked?_ Damien asked himself.

Giving up on opening it the proper way, Damien reached up, and broke the glass in. Climbing into the room, Damien caught faint traces of blood in the air. Anna's blood. Mixed in with that was a slightly less familiar scent… the scent of the green-cloaked Elder who'd taken Myra away.

Instantly, Damien began to fear the worst, and followed the scent out the door and through the hall, pushing past anyone who happened to get in his way.

The scent led out into town… and into the hospital. Now Damien was confused, stopping at the door.

_What did he bring her here for?_ Damien thought to himself. _Was she just injured, then?_

Strong fumes wafted through the door at Damien. Thick odors of blood were among these fumes.  
>Damien covered his face, feeling his gut beginning to ache.<p>

_This smell is going to try my resistance._ Damien thought to himself. _But, I need to know what happened to Anna, and whether or not she's okay._

Damien kept his arm over his face as he entered the hospital, briefly uncovering every so often to find the scent of Anna and the Elder, and continue following.

Finally, the scent led into a door. Carefully, Damien peeked through the window.  
>To his surprise, Anna was sitting up on the hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around her head, and concerned but interested expression on her face.<p>

She looked over at the door, and made a gesture for Damien to come in. For a moment, he hesitated, wondering how Anna had noticed him so quickly.

"Please, join us Damien." came a voice from inside. "I have a proposal, and I think you'll like it."

_Right. The Elder's in there with her._ Damien thought to himself, resting his hand on the door knob. _Alright. Might as well get this over with._

Damien turned the door knob, and pushed the door open. There was already a chair set up beside the hospital bed for Damien.

"Are you alright, Anna?" Damien asked, moving to her side, and pushing the chair away.

She nodded, bringing her hand up to lightly touch the back of her head.

"I slipped and hit my head on the desk." Anna said. "I was lucky that Mr. Engelbert found me when he did."

Damien jerked his attention over to the foot of the bed. There sat Mr. Engelbert, smiling as he always had, with a green cloak hung over his arm.

"You?" Damien said. "You're the Elder who's been following me?"

Mr. Engelbert laughed, getting to his feet.

"Why, yes." He said. "I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner. But, that's just as well. I got to observe your daily routine and behavior without having to sift through any sort of act."

Damien raised his head a bit, taking this in.

"That is my job, after all." Mr. Engelbert went on. "I observe new vampires, usually children or teenagers, and try to make sure they don't drink any blood or change anyone. It's difficult, but, I've had centuries of practice. I rarely fail, anymore."

Damien looked him over, still not entirely trusting of him.

"So… what about Myra? You let her change me right on campus." He said, slight venom lacing his tone. "Why'd you let her change me?"

Mr. Engelbert's smile fell. Anna reached over, and took Damien's hand, bringing his attention to her.

"There was another person changed on campus before you." Anna said. "Mr. Engelbert was escorting him and his attacker to the council headquarters that night. He didn't know that Myra was there until he returned the next morning."

Her eyes were solemn and apologetic. As though this whole mess was her fault. Quietly, Damien worked to contain his anger, at least for the time being, and gently pulled his hand from hers.

"I could not prevent the change. There is little excuse for that." Mr. Engelbert said. "But, if everything's gone as I hope it has, there is a way I can make it up to you. As I understand it, you haven't once consumed even the smallest trace of another creature's blood since you've been turned?"

Damien gave the very slightest grimace at the very mention of the action, turning to look at Mr. Engelbert, and nodding in the negative.

"And you've been a vampire for upwards of six months now, haven't you?" Mr. Engelbert asked.

Damien's brow furrowed a bit as he nodded again.

"I see. And you aren't lying to me about the blood?" Mr. Engelbert asked.

"What is this about?" Damien retorted, getting frustrated.

"Well, you're going to have a very tough time turning human again if you've consumed even the smallest bit of blood from another creature!" Mr. Engelbert said loudly, without losing his usual happy tone and smile.

Silence fell on the room. Damien could swear that he felt his heart beginning to beat again, the shock hit him that hard.  
>Anna, having already heard about this, leaned forward to look at Damien's face.<p>

"Are you… alright?" She asked.

Damien looked at her.

_Human… free to walk in the sun without hurting myself… be seen by others, not that they'll bother to look… and… free of the hunger… so that I don't have to avoid Anna anymore…_ Damien found himself almost day-dreaming in the middle of the room, picturing everything he'd be doing if he could be human again.

Anna gave a little smile, trying to urge him to show a bit of emotion.

"This is great news, isn't it?" She asked. "You'll be able to come back to school. You can live out a normal life."

Damien finally blinked, stumbling backwards to sit in the chair he'd tried to decline upon entrance.

"So… How does it work? What do I have to do?" Damien asked.

Mr. Engelbert sat back down at the foot of Anna's bed, still smiling kindly.

"For the remainder of this year, you have to resist drinking blood." Mr. Engelbert said.

"I'll do it." Damien said.

Mr. Engelbert gave a light laugh, amused by his abrupt enthusiasm.

"This won't be like the first six months, Damien." Mr. Engelbert said. "The thirst is easiest to resist in the first half of the year. But, in the second half… it's absolute torture. Many of the vampires I've helped return to humanity have begged me to let them loose anyway, claiming that they didn't care about humanity. Some even begin behaving like they've had too much blood, like Myra, and begin turning into a monster. This is not something I can leave you to do on your own."

Damien's sudden good mood was dampened heavily as he heard all this.

"You… took that other guy away… so that you could make sure he didn't drink…" Damien realized aloud.

Mr. Engelbert nodded.

"He will be released later this autumn." Mr. Engelbert said. "Like him, you will be kept in a bright room, with thick walls, and be chained to the back wall. One of the council members will bring you food at regular hours, ensuring that you won't eat until you burst. Eventually, you'll fall asleep for a day or two, and wake up human again."

Damien sighed heavily, casting his gaze over at Anna. She was trying her very best not to look sad, and he could see it.

"He's already told you everything, then?" Damien asked.

Anna nodded, leaning back against the pillow.

"It's… only six months… not even that much…" She said. "I can survive on my own. It won't be easy by any means… but, I can do it. Besides, I'm not going to stop you if you want to become human again. Not that I can."

Damien smirked at her, briefly.

"Alright." He said. "As long as you're sure you'll be alright. If anyone messes with you while I'm gone, I'll pulverize them when I get back, alright?"

Anna allowed herself a small smirk to match his.

"You know I don't want you to do that." She said. "I'll be happy as long as you return safe and sound."

The two stared each other down, exchanging a bit more emotion without words. Anna was dreading the lonely feeling that would return whenever he left, and taking in however many moments they might've had left. Damien was trying to tell himself that she would be the only one truly hurt by the distance that was about to be put between them, and was trying to bring her the courage to get through this without saying anything embarrassing in front of the man who'd made him most uncomfortable at school.

Mr. Engelbert took note of their exchange, his smile changing ever so slightly as he took a breath to speak.

"You two will be allowed to keep pictures of each other." He said. "If it will help encourage you to resist the thirst, Damien, and you to keep your focus in school, Miss Blue, I'll be more than willing to take a couple of pictures for the both of you."

They both looked at Mr. Engelbert, each giving a tiny nod.

"May I go find a hat to cover this bandage, first?" Anna asked, bringing her hand up to the white band wrapped around her head. "This is really embarrassing. I should've been more careful."

Mr. Engelbert brought his kind smile to meet her reluctant gaze and he rose to his feet. Without a word, he went to Anna's side, reaching to lift her from the bed.

Damien rose to his feet, suddenly uncomfortable with Mr. Engelbert hanging around Anna like this. Mr. Engelbert noticed this, too.

"Would you rather carry her, then?" He asked.

Damien stiffened, leaning back a bit. Anna's face turned bright red.

"Th-That's alright!" She said. "I… I-I can walk…"

"I won't have that." Mr. Engelbert said. "Not after that spill you took. Come, put your arm over my shoulders."

Reluctantly, Anna put her right arm up over Mr. Engelbert's shoulders, and Damien allowed him to pick Anna up.

"Stay behind me, please, Damien." Mr. Engelbert said. "A second vampire's gaze will surely put the hospital staff and patients on edge."

Damien leered at Mr. Engelbert walked around and allowed Anna to turn the door knob, and push the door open. Damien followed as they left.

All through the hall, many people passed them, and never cast them a second glance. It was as though they couldn't even see them.

_And we're a bit of a strange bunch._ Damien thought. _Two Goth-dressed kids with this one bright and happy-looking adult. I would look twice, at least._

They turned a corner, passing even more people than before.

_And yet… They let me through without calling me to the desk before._ Damien continued his thoughts. _Is this… a vampire's ability? Look at humans just right, and they'll ignore you entirely?_

Damien watched all the people they passed by as they left. All the way back to the school, and to Anna's room, no one noticed them. Not at all.

Mr. Engelbert set Anna down in her bed, moving to set her desk and school work to rights while Damien sought out a hat for Anna. Anna looked back and forth between them, feeling a bit guilty that they were working so hard to make sure she was happy and healthy, and she had yet to do anything to help them in return.

Damien strode over to Anna's bedside, and gave her the three hats that she owned. One was a baseball cap her father'd owned. He'd ripped the patch off and put on a 'B' patch Anna'd picked for him, to signify that his team was Team Blue. Another was a dark blue paper boy cap that Anna'd gotten, thinking it looked nice with one of her outfits, but, she hadn't worn that outfit many times since she got this hat. The third was a simple black beanie. She hadn't worn this one because she hadn't come up with a way to dress up this plain little hat yet.

Sentimental value won her over, and Anna pulled on the baseball cap, narrowly covering the bandage around her head. Mr. Engelbert pulled a small digital camera out of his pocket, and turned it on, getting ready to take the photos.

"I'll have these printed out as soon as possible." He said. "You will only really miss each other for a day, at the longest."

Damien turned on the light, illuminating the room, and making it easier to see Anna.

"Say 'cheese' Miss Blue." Mr. Engelbert said.

Anna gave a small smile, raising her hand to wave to the camera. Mr. Engelbert snapped a quick photo, and turned to Damien.

"Your turn." He said. "Smile for me?"

Damien stared at him, his face still perfectly serious. The only person he ever smiled for was Anna, and he wasn't particularly keen on smiling for anyone else, especially Mr. Engelbert.

"Come, now, the photo's for Miss Blue." He said. "You do want her to remember you in a happier state, don't you?"

Damien glared at him, realizing that he would have to smile for the picture, but, still unwilling to smile in Mr. Engelbert's direction.

"Ummm… Let's see, how did that one go?" Anna spoke up. "Uh… Uh, a man… walks into a bar with his legless dog… Wait, no, that one's too sad! Forget the dog! A man walks into a bar and…"

Damien looked at her as she tried to finish her statement, soon realizing that she was stuttering over a joke to tell to him. Watching her looking around like she'd lost her wallet or something, Damien couldn't help thinking of all the times he'd told her some bad jokes, and it took her so long to realize the funny in them.

"It was a really clever one, I know… Urgh… Erm… Oh, yes!" Anna said, remembering at last. "H-He said 'ouch'!"

She looked at Damien, hoping he would at least smile at that, and, at first, felt she hadn't succeeded. Damien was quiet for a moment, staring at her in curiosity. Then, Damien raised his hand to his face as he snorted a bit. The greatest laugh Anna'd ever heard from Damien rang through the room that night. While he wasn't looking, Mr. Engelbert snapped picture after picture, until he finally got one where Damien was looking at the camera. That one was followed by an abrupt halt of all laughter, and a strict glare from Damien.

Mr. Engelbert laughed lightly, turning to Anna.

"Thank you, Miss Blue!" He said. "He should be happy to remember something like that while he's in 'Vampire Re-hab'. I'm afraid, though, it is time for you two to say good-bye. You'll be coming with me, Damien."

All smiles fell, and Anna looked at Damien. Damien looked over at Anna. Not a single word was exchanged between them. Finally, Anna nodded, Damien returning the gesture with a nod of his own. The two of them had just agreed not to say 'good-bye' this time, as such words had caused them so much trouble before.

Quietly, Damien turned, and moved toward the door. Anna turned off the lights, and slipped under the bed spread.

"Good night." She said softly, turning over away from the door.

Damien nodded, turning and starting out into the hall.  
>Mr. Engelbert was left to wonder about these two, confused by their lack of verbal exchange. But, without another word, Mr. Engelbert closed Anna's bedroom door, and quickly hurried to lead Damien to the 'Vampire Re-hab'.<p>

The night was cool and quiet, with no moon over-head to help light the way. But, of course, the dark didn't bother Damien or Anna. Nor did the quiet. However… with that quiet… was quite a strong feeling of loneliness, bottled up as tightly as possible, but, still on the verge of breaking that bottle.  
>Oh, yes. Though they could be certain they would see each other again, the next six months would prove to be very… very… very long.<p> 


	18. Anna's wait

**Month 1.**

Tears streamed down Anna's face for a while. She fought the urge to sob and scream, so as not to make anything really big of this. She didn't want Damien to come back, and find that she'd been an absolutely spoiled brat about his absence.

_He's hoping I'll be strong for this…_ Anna thought to herself. _He doesn't want me to cry… ever… I need to be strong. I should've been strong from the start, and kept myself from getting into so much trouble that he would so willingly and patiently pull me out of…_

Quietly, Anna cast her gaze over at that one perfect picture. The one captured from Damien's very best laugh. She wanted to see him like that again.

_But, if he hears that I so much as shed one tear for him while he was gone…_ Anna thought to herself. _I'm… not sure what he'd do… Nevertheless, I need to grow up. I'm almost seventeen years old. I can't let a few months of loneliness keep me from dealing with my life._

Bringing her hand up to wipe away tears, Anna turned to her German paper, having barely written two words on it.

"Hurry back, Damien." Anna said. "I'm going to write a really good paper… And I want you to proof-read it for me."

With that, Anna got to work, and finished that paper by midnight. She got the highest marks in her class.

**Month 2.**

"Hey! Anna! Anna Blue!"

Anna raised her head in surprise, and looked up to see that she'd over-filled a customer's coffee cup with maple syrup. Pulling back the pitcher, Anna set that aside, and began cleaning up the mess.

_Oh, I'll be fired for sure, now!_ Anna thought to herself. _That's the third mess I've made in the last hour! I don't even know when I stopped paying attention to this! I wasn't thinking about anything in particular!_

As expected, Anna was allowed to finish out her work day, and then was asked not to return to work there again. Since she'd known it was coming, Anna wasn't terribly upset about it. As a matter of fact, she'd begun noticing a new opportunity at a part-time job in the last week or so.

A new building, closer to the school than that diner was, was just finished being built, and people were cleaning it up to bring in the means to do business there. Anna'd spotted evidence that it was a store of some sort, and wondered if, by some chance, she could be hired there.

As she walked by the building, Anna looked at it, wondering if the purpose of this store had come any clearer. She saw people taking boxes into the building. The boxes were labeled, but, all the people carrying them had their arms over the labels, making it hard to see them.  
>Quietly, Anna started closer, eyes locked on a passing label, trying to read it.<p>

_'The Soul' something or other._ Anna read, filling in the space covered by a workman's hand. _Sounds interesting. But, I can't be sure of it, yet._

Anna inched closer, working not to be noticed.

"Oh! Shoot!"

A sudden clattering noise broke Anna's concentration, and she turned to look. One of the few women on site had tripped and dropped her box, spilling out its contents.

Anna hurried over to help her up. The woman only allowed herself to reach her knees before she reached over, and began picking up her mess.

"Thanks, sweet heart." She said. "I'm alright, though. I do this all the time."

Anna knelt down, and began picking up the contents of the box, noting that it was CDs.

_Wow… This is a lot of music… Country, here… Pop, over there… R&B at my feet… Oh, there're even a few Yellowcard albums here._ Anna noted to herself. _So… this is a CD store?_

She cast her eyes over at the box.

_'The Soul's Vent Music Store', huh? I like it._ Anna thought to herself, the smallest of smiles touching her face.

"Oh? See something you like?" The woman spoke up, picking up an R&B CD. "I'm afraid we're not ready to sell anything yet, but, I can probably arrange for you to get one for helping me like this."

Anna put the Yellowcard albums back into the box.

"Th-That's alright… I… I might be a regular customer here when it opens, anyway." Anna said. "I just… came to help… and figure out what this building was going to become."

The woman smiled, giving a little laugh.

"You mean, you haven't seen the ads?" She asked. "My boss put up the loudest most eye-popping ads he could without getting inappropriate. How did you miss them?"

Anna put a small stack of CDs into the box, giving her answer some thought.

"I've missed many obvious things like those ads lately." Anna said. "You could say… I'm trying to focus on my studies…"

The woman nodded.

"That's good. You should keep with your studies." She said. "Don't get stuck working in a CD store because you didn't get your degree. Keep your options open."

Anna nodded, putting a few more CDs into the box. She helped pick up all the CDs, and then left to work on her school work.  
>The store opened within two weeks, and Anna passed by every day leading up to that one, and then some. Without very much trouble, she managed to convince the manager to let her work there, putting her vast knowledge and love of music to work. Never once has the manager threatened to fire her.<p>

**Month 3.**

Anna finished putting all of her best school papers into a portfolio, not organizing them in any particular manner, just making sure they were findable for when Damien returned, and she could show him the great grades and strokes of brilliance that she felt she had.

With a heavy sigh, Anna closed up the portfolio, staring at the plain white cover. She had yet to decide what she was going to do about decorating the front. She hadn't been very visually creative in years, save for her outfits and accessories.

_That was always her cup of tea, wasn't it…?_ Anna sighed in her head, casting her gaze over at a picture frame that'd been turned on its face on the night stand. _She couldn't draw to save her life… I guess that's why she married him…_

Slowly, Anna stood from her desk, and glided across the room to that night stand, crouching before it. For a moment, she stayed right there, staring at the picture frame, a gloomy expression in her eyes.

_I wish I'd inherited her vision._ Anna thought to herself. _Because, despite his ability to create beautiful images… he had absolutely no clue how to come up with something on his own…_

Anna's hand trailed over to the picture frame, hesitating as her fingers found their way around the edge. After another moment, she pulled the frame up to stand on its own.

_Wow… we had such a pitiful house… I'd give almost anything to go back there, though…_ Anna thought to herself, refusing to look at the faces in the picture at first.

After scanning the brown, weed-covered yard, and the chipping paint and taped windows of the house in the picture, though, Anna's eyes began trailing to the faces beside it.

_Mom… She's so pretty… Long blonde hair, and emerald green eyes…_ Anna thought to herself, her eyes trailing up and down the picture of her mother. _And that baby blue sundress… I wonder if she thought I was going to be a boy back then._

Anna's finger trailed down the image.

_She looks so tired, despite that big smile… I must've been so heavy…_ Anna continued, noting that the only thing she could see of herself was her mother's pregnant belly. _Dad… You really had your hands full, didn't you? Newly-married, barely clinging to a job, and a baby on the way… Still, I was born just fine, and we never went to bed hungry… While other dads were a little less scrawny, and spoiling their kids rotten, you were doing what you could to keep food on the table… I suppose… looking back now… you were a real Superman… The greatest of them all… I'm sorry I never said…_

Anna's finger slid over to trace her father's outline.

_Your black hair was always so thin… Though my hair is the same color, I must have gotten the thickness from Mom… _Anna continued._ Your eyes were such a deep blue color… I always wished my eyes would turn bluer as I grew up, so they would look like yours… I guess Mom gave me lighter color in my eyes… That's fine, though…_

Anna's head rested on the night stand, and she looked the picture up and down.

"You two would be proud of my grades, too, wouldn't you?" She mumbled quietly. "You'd turn on that Irish jig music you liked so much, and start dancing with joy like you used to… I always thought that was so embarrassing… I never thought I'd miss it so much…"

_And I remember… when my parents and the joy they brought… were ripped away without mercy…_ Anna thought to herself. _I heard it coming… that squealing of tires… some idiot was texting, and didn't see us coming until the last second, and tried to stop…_

Anna felt a lump growing in her throat, and swallowed, trying not to cry.

_You two would tell me it's okay to cry when I feel like it…_ Anna thought. _But… you also told me that… when I find a really good friend, who's there for me no matter what, and they ask me to make a promise… I should keep it… So, I will… I won't cry, this time…_

Quietly, Anna flipped the picture back down onto its face, and stood up.

_My chest feels kind of… hot. And it aches a bit._ Anna noted, stretching her arms, trying to change the feeling in her chest. _It feels better with movement… I'll go for a walk, and see where that gets me…_

With that, Anna left her room, and went walking around the school yard. When she got back, she no longer felt like she was going to cry, but she felt a certain… bitterness. And she couldn't be entirely sure why…

**Month 4.**

"Stop, please." Anna said, sounding more tired than nervous. "I have some studying to get to."

A very tall girl named Riley had stopped Anna, and begun pushing her around.

"Really? That's all you've got for me?" She asked. "You'll be an easy beat-down, then!"

Riley and Anna were both in the choir together. Lately, Anna had been really working on her vocals, and was soon being picked to lead the choir for a good handful of their performances. Riley didn't feel she had to work, believing herself to be good enough as she was, and was furious that they'd picked Anna instead.

"I'm keeping a promise to a friend." Anna said. "Do you have friends? Don't you make and keep promises to them?"

"Not my problem." Riley said, shoving Anna back. "You, on the other hand…"

Anna stumbled to keep her balance. Riley took full advantage, and shoved Anna back onto the floor, scattering her books all around. This was about the moment Anna would've started getting really scared, and trying to run. This time, though, Anna felt frustrated. Kind of stressed, even.

Working to ignore Riley, Anna got up, and began to gather her books, avoiding Riley's advances as she went along. As Anna got the last book up, she began feeling a burning ache in her chest. She was tired. She had to get to work at the 'Soul's Vent' soon. Then she'd have to get herself something to eat, and do some school work before she'd be free to go to bed.

Riley came at Anna, her frustration getting worse.

"Just go AWAY!"

_SMACK!_

Riley fell to the floor, holding her burning cheek in pain. Both girls were called to detention after that. Riley hasn't messed with Anna even once since that encounter. Despite this, Anna tries to apologize to her, once every day, hoping Riley will forgive her.

**Month 5.**

Anna sat on the floor in an empty hallway, her head buried in her knees, and her fingers digging into her legs in frustration. Ever since their little spat, Riley had been spreading rumors about Anna being a bigger bully than any other person in the school. While no one had given Anna any trouble yet, they all gave her odd looks as she walked by, and it was more than Anna could take.

_No tears… Whatever you do, don't cry…_ Anna pleaded with herself. _No matter how it hurts, you can't cry right now… So… How do I get rid of the hurt? Everyone's scared of me, now... Mr. Engelbert is out visiting Damien… I don't have anyone else I can talk to… Where do I go from here?_

Anna let out a heavy sigh, gripping her legs even tighter. She was in the last few weeks before Damien was due to return… and she feared she might die before she got to see him again. Things were good for her. Her grades were up. She had a job that wasn't going down, even if it wasn't going up. She had a bunch of new CDs that'd inspired an album's worth of half-written songs. And just when she thought she'd have nothing but good things to tell about when her friend returned…

_Scratcha-scratcha-scratcha-scratcha!_

The light sound caught Anna's attention, and she turned to spot a girl crouched beside her, scribbling away into a notebook. Her brown hair was cut short, but her bangs were long enough to hang in her face, a few orange streaks twisting in to make her hair seem to glow. The girl looked up, her big brown eyes going from a focused look to one of slight surprise in a second.

"No, no, please. Lean back into your knees. I'm almost done, I swear!" She said.

Anna narrowed her eyes in confusion, slowly turning back to hide her face once more. After a few minutes of listening to the girl scratching away, she gave the okay for Anna to sit up straight, and showed her what she'd been working on.

It was a drawing. A drawing of Anna sitting in the hall, holding her knees and hiding her face like she had been.

"I'm sorry, I know I should've asked for your permission first." The girl said. "But, I've seen you around, and you just look so great… I've actually made a few of these. Sorry."

Anna looked up at the girl's face, now completely confused.

"Shoot. Sorry, again!" She said. "My name is Cari Berner. I came to this school to learn to play the guitar, but, I do a bit of doodling in my spare time, too."

Anna nodded once, very slowly.

"I… I'm Anna Blue… I'm a novice song-writer..." Anna said.

Cari smiled brightly, flipping her notebook open, and showing Anna one of the pictures she'd drawn.

"I swear, I'm not a stalker. I drew all these pictures because there's a certain air about you…" She said. "I especially like this last one. I haven't shown it to anyone else."

Cari flipped to an image of Anna striking Riley to the ground, and her stomach clenched.

"You probably got in trouble for that, but, I thought it was awesome!" Cari said. "That girl took one of my drawings and crushed it into the dirt, once."

Anna's shoulders fell, and she turned away, suddenly wishing that Cari had just left her be.

"I'm… not particularly proud of that…" Anna mumbled. "I-"

"Oh, but, I didn't come here to talk to you about that!" Cari cut Anna off. "I came to ask if you would model for a few drawings!"

Anna brought her attention back to Cari.

"Me?" She asked.

Cari nodded with the biggest grin Anna'd ever seen.

"But… I'm not very pretty… why would you want to draw me?" Anna asked.

Cari shook her head.

"You just get cooler with every word that comes out of your mouth!" She squealed. "You don't realize just how ADORABLE you are! I want to draw you because you give off an aura that inspires me to make an epic drawing! I have costumes back in my room, there are plenty of great spots for you to sit or stand, just tell me you'll model for me!"

Anna was absolutely shocked. Not just by this girl's very enthusiastic, talkative proposal, but, by the fact that someone, anyone, was coming to talk to her.

After arranging to meet after Anna got back from work, Anna left to get her things ready so that she could bring her homework to Cari's room when she returned. Despite Cari's slightly imposing nature, she was kind, and took the time to get to know Anna, bringing Anna's heart to an all-new height.

One night, after suddenly proclaiming that they were best friends, Cari had Anna sleep over in her room. Anna couldn't sleep, though. This was all too good to be true. Could it really be… that she had a friend now? A friend who didn't dress in Punk-Goth clothing, or listen to similar music? A friend who would be there for her no matter what?

Tears streamed from Anna's eyes, and she turned to look over at her new friend.

_Please… Don't you ever leave me…_ Anna pleaded in her mind. _I'll do whatever it takes… I'll protect you, and be there for you… Just don't leave me alone…_

Quietly, Anna watched Cari until she fell asleep, trying to dream up what Cari would have her dress in next, but, unable to come up with anything that quite fit the 'Cari Bill'.

**Month 6.**

Cari walked up behind Anna, pulled an aviator beanie onto her head, and smiled.

"It's perfect!" She said. "Although, I think we need to find something with bird features. Owl features, specifically. The puppy ears on this one don't really fit, somehow."

She walked around beside Anna, and spotted the vacant expression on her face.

"Anna? Wakey-wakey! It's too late for eggs and bac-ee!" Cari said.

Anna shook her head, giving a small gasp, and noting the hat on her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I totally spaced." She said. "Is this _the_ hat? Or, did you want my opinion, first?"

Cari crossed her arms, giving a confused look.

"Well, I like that face you made, and I'd love to draw something for it." She said. "But, you've made that face every day for the last three weeks. A face of longing. Are you waiting on something?"

Anna looked over at the mirror, smirking at the cute puppy ears on the hat Cari had put on her, and flipping the ears up, idly.

"Well… Yes. I've been waiting nearly six months…" Anna said.

"Hmm? What for?" Cari asked.

Anna shrugged, turning to face Cari.

"A promise." Anna said. "It'll be here, soon. I'm looking forward to it with every cell in my body."

Cari nodded once, confused, but, aware that Anna was prone to talking about some things without going into too much detail, for some reason. Knowing that Anna probably wouldn't elaborate, though, she patted her friend on the shoulder, smiling brightly.

"Just make sure you keep that face if it gets here before I get around to drawing you this evening!" Cari said, cheerily. "Your face is just so… I don't know… Romeo and Juliet! That's it! You have a very 'Juliet' expression on your face!"

Anna turned back to the mirror in surprise, and looked her face over.

_Juliet? What does a 'Juliet' expression look like?_ Anna asked herself. _It must be a 'Cari' thing. She comes up with the funniest terms for things. I wonder what the proper term for this one is?_

The girls finished up their prop-shopping, and returned to Cari's dorm room to hang out as they normally did. All the while, Anna was feeling so good to be with her new friend, and knowing that her old friend was coming back, soon, she began to cry with joy. And it was _the best_ picture Cari ever drew…


	19. Damien's hell

**Month 1.**

Damien sat in the brightly-lit cell, arms crossed over his belly, and trying not to move too much.  
>There was nothing in this cell but the chains that kept Damien on the back half of the room. The walls and door were white for maximum brightness; the light making his body hurt more from some of the smallest movements.<p>

This was a vampire holding-cell. The best way to hold a vampire prisoner. According to Engelbert, anyway. Damien let out a sigh, wincing slightly at the sudden stretching and releasing pain in his chest. He'd been in here for about a week, now. It was quiet, with only an attendant dropping in to deliver meals at regular hours. The problem was, it was too quiet. Even when Damien knew he wasn't allowed to be found out by humans, he could go off and find somewhere where music was playing, or even sneak into concerts or movies. Now, he wasn't allowed to go anywhere. If he moved from his spot at all, not only would it hurt, the attendant delivering his meals would be on edge. And he didn't want to be on this person's bad side.

_Gurrrr-gle!_

Damien tried not to clutch his stomach, feeling the un-relenting pain of hunger in his gut. The attendant was only feeding him normal meal sizes. He wouldn't complain, though. After all, if he did, this person might decide not to feed him at all. But, now that he was only eating enough to support the average human, Damien was beginning to feel sick with hunger.

_It's definitely not going to be an easy thing to finish this process._ Damien thought to himself, casting his eyes around the cell. _Besides… when that attendant comes back and opens the door, I can hear how much worse it is for everyone else, here. All that screaming… Does it get that much worse?_

The door popped open, and the attendant entered the room, bringing in a plate of spaghetti. Off in the corridor beyond the door, shrieks of tears and anguish could be heard. Damien always expected to hear some other sounds… metal or wood clattering… something to indicate that they were being tortured. But, no. Just screaming. One less scream than before, now. A very young scream was missing from the screaming chorus he'd heard not four hours ago.

"Someone's been released?" Damien asked quietly.

The attendant set the plate down in front of him.

"She was thirteen when she was changed." She said. "Her parents were murdered at the same time. She's been here for a whole year. Finally, I think, she's turning back."

Damien started eating with his fingers, knowing he wasn't allowed silverware.

"Where will she go?" He asked through a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Probably to an orphanage, or the nearest police station, where her nearest relatives will find her." The attendant answered. "They'll sort everything out for her, no matter what."

Damien quickly finished the plate, and set it down as quietly as possible, so as not to upset the attendant.

"How often will Engelbert come to visit?" Damien asked.

The attendant lifted the plate from the floor, and started toward the door.

"He promised once-weekly." She said. "He's a punctual fellow, that one. If nothing really big comes up, he will come by to visit you in three days. I'm off, now."

She stepped out, closing the door behind her, blocking off all outside noise.

Damien groaned as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the picture of Anna that Engelbert had given him.

"Maybe I won't start aging until I turn human again." Damien said, trying to break the silence. "But, I think I'll come out feeling like I'm a hundred years old. I almost wish they'd bring you here to visit…"

Damien leaned back against the wall, staring at Anna's photo, waiting… and longing… and starving…

**Month 2.**

Damien sat huddled in a corner of his cell, eyes screwed shut, breathing heavily, and trying to keep the light off of his midsection so that he could breathe like this without too much pain. The starvation was getting worse, now. Damien had begun feeling sharp, burning pains in his gut over the last two weeks. It was everything he could do to keep from groaning in pain.

_Tap-tap-tap-tap…_

Damien's senses were growing sharper. Even through the sound-proof door, he could hear people walking in the halls. The door clicked open quietly, but, to Damien, it sounded like an entire school orchestra had just been dropped from a great height, and landed in his cell. The rustling clothes of his visitor sounded like they were being violently shaken out by storm winds. The scent hit him, now. Engelbert was his visitor. He could smell the school on him, and all the dirt and stone that he'd walked through to get here.

Damien reached up to cover his nose, not wanting to smell something that would make this pain worse.

"Miss Blue wishes you a good day." Mr. Engelbert breathed, although Damien could hear it as though he'd spoken in a normal tone. "And how are you doing, now?"

Damien made no sound, and tried not to move anymore than he had to. It was too much to give an answer, right now.

He heard Engelbert approach him, his footsteps sounding like thunder. As he sat down before Damien, it sounded like a hurricane was going on inside the cell for the two seconds it took him to sit.

"Senses are up now, eh?" Engelbert asked, still keeping his voice tolerably low. "That comes and goes, as I hear it. Duration time decreases as time goes on."

Damien tried to open his eyes, managing to squint, but, that did little good. All Damien could see was white light, all around.

"You… You've… never… tried… to… turn… human?" Damien breathed, still hurting himself.

"Not yet… Not until we get the vampire count under control…" Engelbert said.

Damien gave that a bit of thought, trying to ignore the pain. However, he couldn't bring himself to ask any further questions. For the rest of Engelbert's visit, Damien sat there, unable to communicate with, or even look at Engelbert. Engelbert left without ever speaking another word and Damien was left to struggle with his pain alone…

**Month 3.**

Damien sat against the wall, holding his face as he heard the attendant coming.  
>The door opened slowly, and she hesitated outside for a moment.<p>

"You're good." Damien said quietly behind his hand. "I've covered my face, this time."

From outside, Damien could hear the clinking of the plate, and saw the attendant slide it in and all the way over to him. He sighed, though he didn't blame her for keeping her distance. He'd smelt a bit of an injury on her the last time she came to visit, and almost hurt her going after the blood that was soaking into the bandage.

Slowly, Damien lowered his hand from his face, and he picked up the sandwich she'd brought him, scarfing it down faster than lightning.

It took a moment for him to regain his senses as he picked up the plate. Once he did, though, Damien looked over at the door, noting that she was waiting on him to return the plate.

"How did you get hurt?" Damien asked.

He heard the attendant sigh in annoyance, outside.

"I have other young vampires to feed." She said.

"And one of them hurt you?" Damien asked.

No answer. Her hand came into view from beyond the door.

"Return the plate, now." She said. "I heard you finish. You can't fool me."

Damien gave up trying to figure out how she got hurt, and put the plate on its thin side, rolling it back to her. She caught the plate, and left. Damien couldn't get anything else out of her from then on.

**Month 4.**

The door opened, allowing the screams from outside to ring around the cell. One particular voice drowned out all others, and made Damien's spine crawl with how horrible it sounded.

Engelbert entered the room, and closed the door, sitting against the wall opposite to Damien.

Damien was up and pacing, feeling oddly impatient with the lack of change of late. He hadn't slept much, lately. He was much too bored. He needed to do something. Having heard this scream, now, though, Damien had something to occupy his mind while Engelbert was here.

"Sounds like someone's having _fun_." Damien said, sarcastically.

Engelbert cast his eyes over at the door, and then back at Damien.

"Every so often… we feel it's a good idea… to have a vampire who has consumed blood in one of the cells closer to those who haven't." Engelbert said. "They always scream the loudest, and for the longest time…"

Damien took note of this still pacing, and fidgeting.

"So… drunkard vampires can turn human again, too, huh?" Damien asked.

Engelbert nodded.

"It takes a lot longer…" He said. "Ten years, give or take… But, unlike you lucky ones who haven't had a drop of blood, we will suffer the whole time. We will scream from our first day without blood up until the day that the wondrous sleep over-takes us. Of course… you may be happy to hear that the one suffering now… is Miss Jackson."

Damien stopped pacing, suddenly. He didn't know why. No one really could tell.

_I hated her all that time… I threatened her so many times…_ Damien thought to himself. _You'd think I'd feel ecstatic to know that she's finally suffering, after everything she's put me through… I'm not upset about it by any means, but… I guess… this is just… peace… I won't feel any need to take revenge on her if I ever see her again…_

Damien finally allowed himself to sit, his legs to turning to burning jell-o as he finally relaxed.

Engelbert watched Damien in surprise, looking him up and down.

"You're not happy?" He asked.

Damien shook his head slowly, lying back and closing his eyes.

"I'm not one of those pathetic fools who take pleasure in other people's pain." Damien said. "I do what I have to, to defend myself. I don't ever enjoy pain. In anyone."

Engelbert's expression softened, as Damien slowly fell asleep right in front of him. Quietly, Engelbert stood up, and approached the door where Damien's usual attendant was waiting on him, just outside.

"He's a valiant one." Engelbert said.

The attendant nodded, holding her now-healed arm.

"He's the only one who has ever asked about where I got my injury." She said.

Engelbert turned to look back at Damien.

"He thinks it was a young vampire lashing out, though, right?" Engelbert asked.

"Of course." She said. "You told me not to let him know it was self-inflicted."

Engelbert turned back to the attendant, giving her a gentle smile.

"Good." He said. "You and I can start coming in here right after mealtimes."

The attendant looked up at Engelbert in worry, revealing bright green eyes.

"Don't push him too much." She said. "We have had others with 'valiant' traits before. Those all melted away when they got put on this test at this point in the change."

Engelbert patted her shoulder, and took her hand.

"I have a very good feeling this time, meine liebling." Engelbert said. "Besides, this one isn't just a valiant young man… He has a girl. A human girl. And he hopes to see her again, soon."

The attendant held Engelbert's hand tightly, and looked in at Damien. Engelbert sighed, pulling her attention back to him, and giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

"I promise." Engelbert said, softly. "Everything will be alright. If someone, anyone gets hurt in this, you can pick a punishment for me, and keep it up until you're ready to forgive me."

She stepped back, reluctant, but, agreeing to his terms. The two left Damien's cell together, discussing how to change Damien's schedule, and how fast. They put their plans into action the next day.

**Month 5.**

Engelbert stepped to the side, avoiding Damien's strike. The poor wall, however, was unable to avoid the blow, and had an enormous hole in it as Damien stepped away from it.

"And this is what you've been doing these last two weeks?" Engelbert asked. "Jumping around like some other-worldly creature, and destroying walls? Honestly, Damien."

Damien paid no mind, running at Engelbert again. Engelbert reached out, grabbing Damien by his forehead, and swinging him around to throw him at the wall.

Damien had broken his chains, recently, and had been attacking all who entered his cell, pulverizing the cell walls in the process. One could see his skin peeling away like Myra's had, but, it was quickly replaced by new skin, rather than the blackness that'd engulfed her. His eyes had an animalistic look to them, but, not quite so _evil_ as Myra's had been.

"Just traces of the _smell_ of blood from when Nadia and I fed is enough to turn you into a monster like Miss Jackson?" Engelbert asked. "Are you that weak?"

Damien stayed down for a bit, breathing heavily, patting dust from his jacket, seeming to be back to normal. Engelbert lowered his head, and went back through the door to meet Damien's attendant.

Her arms were folded, and her pretty green eyes were set in an awful frown. Engelbert gave a sheepish smile, and lowered his head a bit more.

"It's just a small scratch!" He said, patting a small cut on his upper left arm. "When you said hurt, didn't you mean 'big gash in the gut that won't stop bleeding' hurt?"

She shook her head, and pointed off down the hall. Engelbert started away, avoiding eye-contact.

The attendant went to the door, closing it up, and locking it behind Engelbert, and paused as she heard a small sound from inside.

_My face against the window pane… A tear for every drop of rain… I am so lonely and so sad… you're the reason I'm feeling bad… I am so lonely and so sad… living in a dream I've never had…_

Her brow furrowed in curiosity as she hurried off to inquire about this to Engelbert. With his answer, her will to punish him for his broken promise was relinquished, and, instead, she ended up treating him for managing to get Damien back into a calmer state.

**Month 6.**

"I'M DONE!" Damien roared. "LET ME OUT! I WON'T FINISH THIS!"

Engelbert stood outside the cell, listening to Damien scream and yell, claiming that he was giving up on turning back to human. This was all he could really do. All vampires screamed this nonsense during the transformation, and then eventually finished it, forgetting that they'd asked to bow out at all. No amount of reasoning would make them stop. It was just a matter of waiting, and listening.

Inside, Damien's clothes were beginning to tear as he thrashed about, trying to get out of the room. He paid it little mind as a certain paper fell out of his torn pocket, and fluttered to the floor. Everything hurt too much. The light burned. He felt as though his gut had just been carved out, he was so hungry. His eyes were heavy, as he couldn't sleep while he was in all this pain. Every single muscle in his body was strained from his constant movement, and attempts to destroy the walls.

"You know you only have about two more weeks before you're expected to change back." Engelbert said, attempting to reason with him, just for the sake of it. "If you'll settle down somewhere, you might fall asleep, and change back faster."

"To hell with that!" Damien snapped. "I can't take this anymore! I won't take this anymore! LET ME OUT!"

Engelbert winced outside, though Damien couldn't touch him.  
>Damien walked around, slamming his fists into walls and the door as he met each one. Walking back to the middle, Damien stomped down hard on the floor, injuring his ankle, and putting a dent in the floor at the same time.<br>Through the noise of such a blow, though, Engelbert noticed a bit of a smaller sound, and remembered something that might just put Damien back in a fighting state of mind.

_I can't take it… It hurts too much…_ Damien thought to himself. _I wanted to become human… but, I don't want to suffer like this anymore! I'd rather die!_

"If you won't let me out, come in here and kill me." Damien said, finally trying to contain himself.

Engelbert narrowed his eyes, though he couldn't see Damien at all through the door.

"Make it quick." Damien said. "I can't stand another minute in this world…"

Engelbert was silent a moment, listening to Damien limp around, pacing impatiently.

"You've injured yourself rather badly…" Engelbert noted. "That's going to make walking back through the rough mountains very difficult… And what will she think when she sees you all banged up like this?"

Damien let out a roar of impatience, and threw everything he had into punching the door. He put a huge dent in it, but broke every bone in his right hand doing something so useless.

"You can still heal up in time… She may never know you were even in pain to begin with…" Engelbert continued, having only stepped back when he saw the damage Damien did to the wall.

Damien fell back on his butt, holding his right wrist, and glaring at the door.

"What are you blabbering about?!" Damien snapped. "Why would I care about what anyone thinks of my physical condition?!"

Engelbert put his hands into his pockets.

"So, in all this pain, you've forgotten the only person you seem to like in this world?" Engelbert asked.

Damien sat where he was, fidgeting because of his stomach aching so badly.

_What? Who… Oh, yeah, there is a face I wanted to see…_ Damien realized. _Why is the face all blurry, though? What was… her name? I'm sure it was a girl…_

Engelbert gave a small smirk at Damien's silence.

"If I'm correct about your location… you need only turn around. Look behind you." Engelbert said.

Damien hesitated briefly, not wanting to let go of his train of thought yet. Slowly, though, he turned to look over his shoulder, and spotted an odd-looking patch of dust inside one of his footprints.

"You… destroyed the only picture you had… of Miss Anna Blue, I presume?" Engelbert asked.

The name echoed in Damien's head… Colors came to mind, slowly forming an image in his mind… Finally, Damien's eyes widened a bit, and he reached to touch that patch of dust.

"Anna… That's right…" Damien said. "That… was your picture… I haven't looked at it in two weeks…"

Engelbert stepped a bit closer to the door, listening to Damien as he got a bit quieter. He could hear Damien trying to pick up the remains of the photo he'd destroyed, and heard him sigh in defeat.

Without another word, Engelbert retrieved a new paper from his pocket, and slid it in under the door. Damien was absolutely silent from then on…


	20. Finally

"No, no, back the other way, so that there's a shadow on your left side!" Cari said.

Anna turned ever so slightly, trying to find the right light for her friend to draw in.

"There! There! Stop!" Cari cried. "Hold it!"

Anna held perfectly still, waiting on her friend to give her the 'OK' to move. Anna'd been helping her with this portrait for three days, standing in the exact same spot, in the exact same pose, hoping she'd finish the portrait before the sun moved too much, and make it so that they'd have to return the next day. Anna hadn't even gotten to wear a different outfit during the day in three days because Cari needed her to wear a certain outfit for this portrait.

"Perfect!" Cari said, her mechanical pencil moving faster than lightning around the page. "Anna, sweet heart, you are the best model I've ever had!"

Anna fought back a smile, unsure of whether her friend was finished with the face on the drawing or not.

_I wonder what this one's about._ Anna thought to herself. _I'm getting nothing from this posture, and she won't let me see this one, yet. She's so excited, though… not that that's unusual._

"I'm almost done with your part." Cari said, tilting her head to the side to get one of her 'different points of view'. "But, you still can't look! If I don't get distracted, I'll finish it tonight, and you can see it then. But, not until!"

Anna made no move to respond, though she would've groaned in disappointment. She was ready to see the picture that they'd been working on for so long. The one that Cari had called 'The Epitome of the Anna Blue Line'.

Quietly, though, Anna waited… and waited… and waited… slowly beginning to feel stiff, Anna began breathing a bit heavier, trying to hold her position, until…

"YES!" Cari screamed.

Anna jumped in shock, and fell over backwards. Cari hopped up, spinning around with her drawing before she realized how badly she'd just scared her friend.

"Oh, shoot! Anna!" She cried.

Cari hurried over to Anna's side, and reached for her hand.

"Are you alright, sweet heart?" Cari asked. "Geez… what made you space so deeply that I could scare you like this?"

Anna took her hand, and Cari heaved her back up to her feet.

"Not… anything in particular." Anna said. "I mean… I was just… waiting. I must've… dozed… just a little."

Cari put her free hand on her hip, staring at Anna.

"You can sleep standing up?" She asked.

Anna shrugged.

"N-Not really… sleep. Like you said, it was just… a really deep space." She said.

"Huh." Cari said, putting her latest drawing into her big sports bag of art supplies. "Well, that would be a funny thing to capture! Someone asleep on their feet! Or, I can put in certain elements and make it scary! Or, I can…"

Anna lost track of what Cari was saying as the two gathered her things, and headed back up to Cari's dorm. She hadn't entirely told her friend the truth. She had spaced on something while trying to hold her pose for Cari's drawing. After all, she was feeling uncomfortable standing still for so long, and needed to stop thinking about the discomfort so that she could hold her pose.

_Mr. Engelbert's been gone for two weeks, now…_ Anna thought to herself. _Damien is due to return this month… I wonder… if something happened…_

In Cari's room, Anna helped her put her things away, and then started to the door.

"I need to get to work, now." Anna said. "I'll be back later, alright?"

"No worries!" Cari said. "Hey, how about I come stay in your room tonight? I still haven't drawn you in those adorable pajamas yet!"

Anna smirked, and looked back at her friend.

"Yeah." She said. "I'd like that. I'll bring snacks, then?"

"Awesome! See you later, then!" Cari said.

Anna started out, heading straight for the 'Soul's Vent Music Store'. Her favorite co-worker, Laurel, was sitting outside the store, playing her guitar to attract customers. This was a very occasional thing, since it didn't always work very well. Today, though, she had a crowd of about ten people, tipping her and inching toward the store, though they weren't quite ready to leave while she was still playing.

Anna smiled, passing Laurel without greeting her, knowing that distracting her might cause her to lose concentration on the music. Inside, Anna greeted her other co-workers, and pinned on her name-tag as she went to stand behind the counter. Several customers came asking her about where to find CDs, and what would be comparable. Easily, having memorized the shelves long ago, Anna pointed them to each shelf, and helped them find the exact music they wanted.

At the end of the day, the manager patted Anna on the back as she started out, complimenting her work, today. Anna smiled, bidding everyone 'good-bye' as she hurried out the door.

Having heard Cari rave about the place several times before, Anna stopped at a pizza joint, and picked up two small deluxe pizzas. Anna hurried back, feeling she'd stayed out too late, and was making Cari wait.

Outside the dorm is where she finally met up with Cari, and apologized for making her wait.

"No, no, you're all good!" Cari said. "But, I'm starving half to death! Let's hurry and get to your place so we can eat!"

She stepped behind Anna, and began pushing her towards the dorm, both girls snickering the whole way there. At the first flight of stairs in the dorm, Cari stopped pushing Anna so they could get up without anybody tripping, only to continue pushing her once they reached the first landing.

As the girls giggled and laughed all the way up, a certain pair of ears perked up to the sound of their laughter, the head they belonged to turning to face the stairs.

Cari began pushing Anna again after they got off the second flight of stairs. For a moment, Anna began laughing again, not really noticing anything other than her friend playing around with her. Aware of her dorm mates' tendencies to make messes, though, Anna turned to watch where her friend was pushing her.

Her smile fell. Her feet stuck to the floor like super glue, stopping Cari from pushing Anna any further. Anna could feel her heart rapidly switching between racing and stopping, making it incredibly hard for her to breathe. Her fingers grew weak, and released the two pizzas she'd been holding, letting them fall to the floor.

"H-Hey!" Cari gasped. "What gives?"

Anna paid her friend little mind, stepping over the dropped pizza boxes to approach a familiar, and long-missed figure waiting just outside the door.

Two sets of blue eyes met with a bond impervious to all but the decisions of the owners of these eyes. No expression could quite display how… perfect the two felt in this moment. So, their faces stayed blank as they tried to come up with a way to properly greet each other.

Finally… after six months… Damien had returned. Was he human? Anna couldn't really tell. However… at this point… she didn't care. Not yet, at least.

Damien took a breath to speak, starting to look serious.

_No… No more bad news! Please, stop!_ Anna cried in her head. _Damien stop! How do I…? What do I…?_

Cari stood up straight, having bent down to pick up the pizzas, and her eyes widened as she watched these two. How odd it'd been that Anna was so incredibly… affected by this guy's presence. And now… as Cari watched Anna suddenly shake her head, and jump at him… she could only imagine what she'd missed.

A tear spilled down Anna's cheek, and her breath started coming back to her. She could feel that she was up on her tip-toes. Butterflies stirred in her stomach as she began to realize what she'd done.

Damien was absolutely frozen, shocked at this sudden outburst from his once very shy friend. Her eyes were shut tight, and she held his shoulders firmly. His eyes remained open, as he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and was afraid the sight would vanish.

Anna fought the urge to sob against Damien's face while she held her lips against his, fighting off any sort of bad news he'd been prepared to share.

_I'm such an idiot…_ Anna thought to herself. _There are millions of better ways to shush someone… Why did I pick this one? I love him, yes… But, I never wanted to force myself on him…_

Slowly, Anna released Damien, lowering herself down to stand up straight as she began to cry, burying her face in her hands. Damien finally blinked, looking down at Anna as she returned to normal right in front of his eyes.

"I'm so sorry! That was really stupid of me!" Anna sobbed. "I never meant to force this, I just… didn't want to hear… whatever he told you to tell me..."

_Force? Force what?_ Damien asked himself. _The… kiss? Did she… No, no, no, hang on! You can worry about that in a little bit! For now… was somebody following her? She was laughing when she came up…_

Damien looked up to see a girl quickly scribbling all over a piece of paper resting on a big notebook. She looked up at him, and quickly sent her pencil aside.

Slowly, Damien turned back to urge Anna to look at him.

"A-Anna…" His mind was faltering just a bit, as he realized that he'd just been caught in a very emotional moment for both himself and Anna. "Let's… not worry about that yet… W-Who is this girl?"

Anna sobbed a few more times while rubbing her eyes, trying to get herself back under control.

"Shoot… I'm really sorry…" She said, turning to look back at Cari. "Cari, this is Damien. He's a friend of mine from my hometown."

Cari nodded. "I've seen the posters." She said.

Anna turned back to Damien.

"Damien, this is Cari Berner." She said. "We met a couple of months ago. She and I were coming up here to study together…"

Damien nodded, looking the girl over. Cari put away her drawing supplies, and folded her arms. Both of them were feeling rather awkward, all of a sudden, both having felt themselves very important as Anna's 'only friend'.

Anna turned to her door, and unlocked it, opening it up to let her friends in.

"Come on in. We were just about to have dinner." Anna said.

Finally, Cari remembered the gaping hole in her gut, and hurried on into Anna's room. Damien hesitated. Anna's grip on the doorknob tightened a bit.

"Do we… have something to talk about?" Anna asked.

Damien looked her in the eye, and shook his head.

"It'll wait. Engelbert will probably fill you in, tomorrow." Damien said.

Quietly, he entered the room, seating himself on Anna's bed as Cari had already claimed the desk chair, and begun munching on a slice of pizza. Anna helped divide the pizzas so that everyone got an even number of slices. She was more than pleased to see that Damien was eating normally, again, and the joy of his return was brought back in full.

Just as soon as dinner was over, though…

"Okay! I'm stuffed!" Cari exclaimed. "Now, hurry and put on those pajamas! I have the most perfect idea for a drawing!"

Anna cast Damien a brief glance before getting up, retrieving the pajamas that Cari was demanding of her, and stepping into her closet to change her clothes.

Damien cast his eyes over at Cari. The odd little brunette had gone back to scribbling on the paper he'd seen her working at in the hall.

_She's an odd one…_ Damien thought to himself. _Loud and over-excited… I am glad, though… that Anna hasn't been completely miserable this whole time._

"So… where've you been all this time?" Cari asked suddenly.

Damien leaned forward, slightly.

"I don't owe you an explanation." He said.

Cari looked up at him.

"Maybe not." She said. "But, Anna's been waiting for ages for you to return. Every time she gets a moment to space, I'm certain… she's looking at memories of you. I could see it clearly out in the hall. I know why she was waiting on you… from the look on your face out there, you were eager to get back to her, too… But, I'd like to know… what kept you apart?"

Damien watched Cari very carefully. She stared at him, a very serious expression on her face.

_Well… she's nosey… but… in a good way…_ Damien thought to himself. _You're a good judge of character, Anna…_

"You could say… I was in re-hab." Damien said. "It was a very sudden move, and I didn't want Anna to know I was there, so…"

Cari looked him over, taking in his expression. After a few minutes of studying his face, she turned back to her drawing, scribbling as fast as she could.

"I'll leave after I get the base for my next drawing." Cari said. "I won't make you tell her where you were… but, if you don't kiss her again; for real this time; before the night is out, you better watch your back!"

Damien was still.

_Maybe she's a good friend to Anna,_ Damien thought to himself. _But, I think… I will have a bit of trouble getting along with her._

Cari looked over at the closet.

"Hey! Anna! Are you done yet?" She called.

Silence followed. Slowly, the squeaky knob on the door turned, and the door opened a crack.

"I-I… I'm not so sure about this, now…" Anna said, stepping out in her new pajamas.

They started out as a set of two piece white pajamas, with black bunnies all over. But, as soon as Cari purchased them for Anna, she chopped off the sleeves, and put pink satin lacing on the left shoulder, and blue satin lacing on the right. Then she took the pants and cut out the knees, putting a blue satin patch on the left knee, and a pink one on the right.

Anna loved the pajamas. She really did. It was the modeling she was uncomfortable with. Damien was here now, after all. She wasn't entirely sure what he'd think of the modeling she'd been doing.

Damien looked Anna over, smirking at how little her style had changed, despite having a pushy new friend. Anna turned bright red, looking down at her feet.

"Don't you worry, sweet heart." Cari said. "He's going to be in this one, too."

Both of them turned to Cari, looking at her in surprise.

With a bit of fussing to get them into the right places, Cari soon had Anna lying on her bed, and Damien lying on the floor, reaching toward each other without ever touching each other.

Cari drew as fast as she could, only looking up once in a while to be sure of the details, or have Anna tweak the way her hair or pajamas settled on her.

As promised, just as soon as Cari had Anna's image complete, she put the drawing into her bag, saying that Damien's part of the portrait would wait for another time. She left her collection of drawings of Anna for them to look through.

Anna, though confused, bid 'good night' to her friend, and closed the door behind her.

She went to her desk, sitting down in the chair. Damien turned to face her, though Anna was staring at the big notebook left on her desk.

"Engelbert isn't asking much of us, now." Damien said, wanting to get this over with. "He only wants to erase our memories of the whole… vampire mess."

Anna turned to him, shock evident on her face.

"We can be kept in the same room for this. And he promises to replace any memories we want to keep, making up an entire cover story for whatever we'd like to keep." Damien said. "Obviously, he wants us to talk this over first, and figure out the story we want to replace the lost memories. It's not bad news, just a bit… annoying."

Anna sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat.

"Actually… that's fine." She said. "I've kept a journal of everything. If he can use his vampire powers to fabricate a cover story for the vampire thing, and let me keep every other memory, I would be just fine."

Damien nodded, having figured she would feel that way.

"I should be fine with that, too." He said.

They stared at each other for a moment. At this point, they probably would've started fabricating their story… but, they needed to clear up a few details, first.

"So…" Damien said. "Out in the hall…"

Anna sat up straight so that she could lower her head.

"I'm really sorry about that." She said. "I didn't want to force myself on you like that… It was just so… spontaneous."

Damien lowered his head a bit.

"I… wasn't upset… by that…" He said.

Anna raised her head slightly, hoping to gain something from his expression. But, all Anna could see was a slightly embarrassed, uncertain expression, reflecting her feelings exactly, she believed.

"I-It's not like… it was meaningless…" Anna said. "I mean… I… I've… really… liked you… from our very first encounter…"

Damien looked up at her, now. Neither of them felt as though they were getting any sort of signals from each other's expression.

"I didn't want to show you… like that…" Anna said. "After all… I… wanted to let you decide… whether we would… or not…"

Damien could feel his stomach fluttering, something that only happened when he was around Anna.

_All this time…_ He thought to himself. _She… I could've told her at any time, and we could've been together the very next day. I'm such a coward…_

"But, if you don't, I'm fine." Anna said. "I mean, I don't want to mess things up between us. That's the only reason I haven't told you up until now. So, please… don't worry about my feelings. Yours are the ones that-"

"I love you."

Time stopped. Anna found herself unable to move as she stared at Damien. Damien watched her, worrying about how that'd come out. There was at least seven feet between the two of them. He should've at least waited until he could be standing next to her. But, now, it was too late. All he could do was wait for Anna to react.

_Did he… no… I don't know…_ Anna thought, time beginning to start up again. _Perhaps… I just didn't hear him… He's a quiet person, most of the time… and I'm sitting farther away from him than usual…_

Slowly, Anna rose from her seat, and stumbled over to Damien, sitting just a few inches away from him.

She took a breath to steady herself, and turned to look him in the eye.

"S-Say that again." Anna said. "I…"

Damien could see the doubt in her eyes, and reached for her hand, taking it firmly in his.

"I love you, Anna Blue." He told her, gripping her hand a bit tighter as he spoke. "I've loved you for so long… I haven't told you out of mere cowardice… something only you can bring out in me."

Silence fell between the two. Suddenly, everything seemed clearer. Like a fog had just lifted off of them, so that they could see what they'd been dancing around for so long. Curiosity began to set in.

_Now that I've told her, and learned that she feels the same…_ Damien thought to himself.

_... Would it be alright to move closer to him?_ Anna asked herself.

The two of them moved at the same time, shocking each other as they got close enough to touch. Slowly, timidly, Anna reached up, and gently touched Damien's face. He lightly flinched beneath her touch, a reaction only Anna would ever know in him. Trembling at the thought, but, daring to test the limits, Damien reached his arms around Anna, and pulled her closer to him.

The two couldn't find it in them to speak. Not this time. Enough had been said for now. This time, Damien took the lead, and leaned down to give Anna a gentle kiss on the lips.

The contact was like lightning, shocking them both. Save for the moment in the hallway, neither had ever known what it was like to kiss someone like this. And now… to finally know it… and know that they were finally free to just be together, and share as many of these kisses as they liked… comfort fell upon them both.

_Scratcha-scratcha-scratcha!_

Though unwilling to part, an odd noise began to bug Anna and Damien. Very reluctantly, Anna broke away first, and both turned to see the door was open, and Cari had come back, and was sketching something like the mad-woman she was.

"Oh, no, no, no! Come on! I almost had the brief sketch that I could build off of later!" Cari said. "Couldn't you ignore me just a little while longer?"

"CARI!"

"Alright! I'm gone! I'm gone!" She said.

The next day, Anna and Damien met with Engelbert, their story at the ready, and had their memories erased in a matter of hours.  
>Now, neither ever really missed anything, as they attended school together, graduated together, and began working their solo careers, their first songs ever reaching high marks on the Top One-Hundred Hottest Songs list of the year they were released.<br>Cari remained a friend to both of them through the years, doing cover art for their albums, and making animated music videos for their songs.  
>But, all along, Anna and Damien could always feel that one year of their memories just didn't feel quite right… Not that it ever bothered them for long. After all, they were about to start a tour together. The tour would be called the 'So Alone in Your Heart' tour, and Damien was particularly amped up for this one. Anna couldn't be sure why. She just knew it had something to do with a recent lump in his pocket. She never suspected it when he stopped, in the middle of a concert, and knelt down before her, retrieving a small box from his pocket…<p> 


End file.
